Newtonian Motivations For General Relativity - The Equivalence of Gravitational and Inertial Mass

The Equivalence of Gravitational and Inertial Mass

A unique feature of the gravitational force is that all massive objects accelerate in the same manner in a gravitational field. This is often expressed as "The gravitational mass is equal to the inertial mass." This allows us to think of gravity as a curvature of spacetime. Objects move in spacetime along geodesics, the paths which yield the shortest distance between two points in spacetime.

Read more about this topic:  Newtonian Motivations For General Relativity

Famous quotes containing the word mass:

    No doubt Jews are most obnoxious creatures. Any competent historian or psychoanalyst can bring a mass of incontrovertible evidence to prove that it would have been better for the world if the Jews had never existed. But I, as an Irishman, can, with patriotic relish, demonstrate the same of the English. Also of the Irish.... We all live in glass houses. Is it wise to throw stones at the Jews? Is it wise to throw stones at all?
    George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)