Mach's criticism against the Newtonian concept of mass revisited / Angelo Pagano; Emanuele V. Pagano
Si trova su / Altri legami
© 2021 European Physical Society.Mach's criticism of the Newtonian concept of mass (NCM) as a quantity of matter is logically re–examined within a historical framework and the theory of physical quantities. The basic relations describing the link between the NCM and the notion of density of matter are deduced. Mach's criticism is shown to be logically defective and empirically unjustified. However, in late 19th century, Mach's idea played a significant role in the foundation of modern mechanics. As a consequence, the concept of inertial mass was emphasised with respect to quantity of matter. The paper presents also some considerations on the metrology that are useful for educational purposes.
