inertia
- inertia
-
/in err"sheuh, i nerr"-/, n.
1. inertness, esp. with regard to effort, motion, action, and the like; inactivity; sluggishness.
2. Physics.
a. the property of matter by which it retains its state of rest or its velocity along a straight line so long as it is not acted upon by an external force.
b. an analogous property of a force: electric inertia.
3. Med. lack of activity, esp. as applied to a uterus during childbirth when its contractions have decreased or stopped.
Syn. 1. torpor, inaction, laziness.
* * *
Inherent property of a body that makes it oppose any force that would cause a change in its motion.
A body at rest and a body in motion both oppose forces that might cause
acceleration. The inertia of a body can be measured by its
mass, which governs its resistance to the action of a force, or by its moment of inertia about a specified axis, which measures its resistance to the action of a
torque about the same axis.
* * *
property of a body by virtue of which it opposes any agency that attempts to put it in motion or, if it is moving, to change the magnitude or direction of its velocity. Inertia is a passive property and does not enable a body to do anything except oppose such active agents as forces and torques. A moving body keeps moving not because of its inertia but only because of the absence of a force to slow it down, change its course, or speed it up.
There are two numerical measures of the inertia of a body:
its mass, which governs its resistance to the action of a force, and its moment of inertia (
inertia, moment of) about a specified axis, which measures its resistance to the action of a torque about the same axis. See Newton's laws of motion.
* * *
Universalium.
2010.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
Inertia — In*er ti*a, n. [L., idleness, fr. iners idle. See {Inert}.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Physics) That property of matter by which it tends when at rest to remain so, and when in motion to continue in motion, and in the same straight line or direction,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
inertia — in‧er‧tia [ɪˈnɜːʆə ǁ ɜːr ] noun [uncountable] a tendency for a situation to stay the same for a long time: • He believes that suppressed demand after years of inertia will lead to a housing recovery this year. * * * inertia UK US /ɪˈnɜːʃə/ noun… … Financial and business terms
inertia — 1713, introduced as a term in physics 17c. by German astronomer and physician Johann Kepler (1571 1630), from L. inertia unskillfulness, idleness, from iners (gen. inertis) unskilled, inactive; see INERT (Cf. inert). Used in Modern Latin by… … Etymology dictionary
Inertĭa — (lat.), 1) Trägheit, Faulheit; 2) Unvermögen, entweder eines Organs, bes. wegen Erschlaffung u. Reizlosigkeit, als auch einer Flüssigkeit, des lebenden Körpers, wegen Mangels an gehöriger Mischung … Pierer's Universal-Lexikon
Inertĭa — (lat.), Trägheit, Beharrungsvermögen … Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon
inertia — I noun apathy, dormancy, dullness, firmness, immobility, immobilization, immovability, inability to act, inaction, inactivity, indecision, indisposition to move, indolence, inertness, inexcitability, irresolution, lack of activity, lack of motion … Law dictionary
inertia — [n] disinclination to move; lifelessness apathy, deadness, drowsiness, dullness, idleness, immobility, immobilization, inactivity, indolence, languor, lassitude, laziness, lethargy, listlessness, oscitancy, paralysis, passivity, sloth,… … New thesaurus
inertia — ► NOUN 1) a tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged. 2) Physics a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless changed by an external force. DERIVATIVES inertial… … English terms dictionary
inertia — [in ʉr′shə, in ʉr′shē ə] n. [L, lack of art or skill, ignorance < iners: see INERT] 1. Physics the tendency of matter to remain at rest if at rest, or, if moving, to keep moving in the same direction, unless affected by some outside force 2. a … English World dictionary
Inertia — In common usage, however, people may also use the term inertia to refer to an object s amount of resistance to change in velocity (which is quantified by its mass), and sometimes its momentum, depending on context (e.g. this object has a lot of… … Wikipedia
