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inertia 
Related: Physics
| (inûr´she) , in
physics, the resistance of a body to any alteration in its state of
motion
, i.e., the resistance of a body at rest to being set in motion or
of a body in motion to any change of speed or change in direction of
motion. Inertia is a property common to all matter. This property
was first observed by Galileo and restated by Newton as his first
law of motion, sometimes called the law of inertia. Newton's second
law of motion states that the external force required to affect the
motion of a body is proportional to that acceleration. The constant
of proportionality is known as the mass , which
is the numerical value of the inertia; the greater the inertia of a
body, the less is its acceleration for a given applied force.
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Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, Copyright
(c) 2003.
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