mass (physics)

Click a letter for the index

Or search the encyclopaedia:

 

 

Go

 

In physics, quantity of matter in a body as measured by its inertia, including all the particles of which the body is made up. Mass determines the acceleration produced in a body by a given force acting on it, the acceleration being inversely proportional to the mass of the body. The mass also determines the force exerted on a body by gravity on Earth, although this attraction varies slightly from place to place (the mass itself will remain the same). In the SI system, the base unit of mass is the kilogram.

At a given place, equal masses experience equal gravitational forces, which are known as the weights of the bodies. Masses may, therefore, be compared by comparing the weights of bodies at the same place. The standard unit of mass to which all other masses are compared is a platinum-iridium cylinder of 1 kg, which is kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Sèvres, France.

The Star of May recalls the declaration of independence on 14 May 1811. The colours were inspired by the French tricolour. Effective date: c. 1990. >>