Editing Inertia (section)

{{Short description|Fundamental principle of classical physics}}
{{About|inertia in physics}}
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{{Classical mechanics|Topic=Fundamental concepts}}

'''Inertia''' is the natural tendency of objects in [[motion]] to stay in motion and objects at rest to stay at rest, unless a [[force]] causes the velocity to change. It is one of the fundamental principles in [[classical physics]], and described by [[Isaac Newton]] in his [[Newton%27s_laws_of_motion#First|first law of motion]] (also known as The Principle of Inertia).<ref>{{cite web|last=Britannica|first=Dictionary|url=https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/Inertia|title=definition of INERTIA|access-date=2022-07-08}}</ref> It is one of the primary manifestations of [[mass]], one of the core quantitative properties of [[physical system]]s.<ref>{{cite web |last=Britannica |first=Science |title=inertia physics |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/inertia |access-date=2022-07-08}}</ref> Newton writes:<ref>Andrew Motte's English translation: {{Citation| last = Newton| first = Isaac| title = Newton's Principia: the mathematical principles of natural philosophy (3rd edition)| publisher = Daniel Adee| year = 1846| location = New York| url = https://archive.org/details/newtonspmathema00newtrich/page/n87/mode/2up| pages= 83}}</ref><ref>Andrew Motte's 1729 (1846) translation translated Newton's "nisi quatenus" erroneously as ''unless'' instead of ''except insofar''. {{Cite journal |journal=Philosophy of Science |date=2023 |title=Forced Changes Only: A New Take on Inertia |pages=60–73 |volume=90 |issue=1 |first=D. |last=Hoek|doi=10.1017/psa.2021.38 |hdl=10919/113143 |arxiv=2112.02339 }}</ref><ref>
{{Cite web |date=2023-08-17 |title=What Newton really meant {{!}} Daniel Hoek |url=https://iai.tv/articles/what-newton-really-meant-daniel-hoek-auid-2579 |access-date=2023-09-29 |website=IAI TV - Changing how the world thinks |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |journal=Scientific American |date=5 September 2023 |title=Mistranslation of Newton's First Law Discovered after Nearly Nearly 300 Years |pages= |volume= |issue= |first=Stephanie |last=Pappas |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mistranslation-of-newtons-first-law-discovered-after-nearly-300-years1/}}</ref>

{{quote|LAW I. Every object perseveres in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a right line, except insofar as it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed thereon.|author=Isaac Newton|title=Principia, The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy|source=Translation by Cohen and Whitman, 1999<ref name="Cohen&Whitman">{{Cite book |title=The Principia, The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy |first=I. |last=Newton |translator-last1=Cohen |translator-first1=I.B. |translator-last2=Whitman |translator-first2=A. |location=Los Angeles |publisher=University of California Press |date=1999 |isbn=978-0-520-29087-7}}</ref>}}

In his 1687 work ''[[Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica]]'', Newton defined inertia as a property:

{{quote|DEFINITION III. The ''vis insita'', or innate force of matter, is a power of resisting by which every body, as much as in it lies, endeavours to persevere in its present state, whether it be of rest or of moving uniformly forward in a right line.<ref>Andrew Motte's English translation: {{Citation| last = Newton| first = Isaac| title = Newton's Principia: the mathematical principles of natural philosophy (3rd edition)| publisher = Daniel Adee| year = 1846| location = New York| url = https://archive.org/details/newtonspmathema00newtrich/page/n77/mode/2up| pages= 73}}</ref>}}