Reference: Essays on Substance
Inertia versus Motion
Neither Newton nor Einstein related inertia to motion directly; but they did so indirectly.
In Newton’s frame of reference, the background of the universe is totally still against which all rates of change in the position of planets are measured. This is the basis of Newton’s concept of “absolute time,” which flows constantly at the same speed anywhere and at any time throughout the universe. The total stillness of the background equates to infinite inertia assumed for the background. Therefore, in Newton’s frame of reference: INFINITE INERTIA = ZERO MOTION.
In Einstein’s frame of reference, the speed of light ‘c’ is the maximum speed possible for the universe. A photon is assumed to have zero mass and zero inertia. The “finiteness” of ‘c’ is explained away as a “property of spacetime.” Therefore, in Einstein’s frame of reference, “ZERO” INERTIA = MAXIMUM OR “INFINITE” MOTION (postulated as the speed of light).
The theory of relativity, then indirectly extrapolates between these two points, to address the anomaly of motion as in the case of the precession of Mercury’s orbit. This is quite workable for inertial frames of reference, but in the range of matter only.
The truth is that the mass of matter changes with motion by an unmeasurable amount in the range of matter, and the theory of relativity presents a workaround for this problem.
The theory of Substance, on the other hand, points directly to the inverse relationship between inertia and motion, in terms of the relationship between consistency (RIM) of substance, and its de Broglie’s wavelength. According to the theory of Substance:
A particle has constant velocity in free space because its acceleration is exactly balanced by its inertia. This equilibrium is maintained even under the influence of external forces, which may change the consistency and wavelength of the particle, but only in a consistent manner.
The theory of Substance thus takes away the arbitrary postulates of infinite inertia for material background, and the universally maximum speed for light.
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