Mach’s principle in Newtonian continuum mechanics

Abstract

Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Malta, 16-18 July, 2012.

The Principle of Mach has occupied a significant position in mechanics. The present objective is to outline the nature of the Principle in the context of Newtonian continuum mechanics. It is shown that the inertial force can, indeed, be expressed as an integral over the entire universe. The meaning of this integral is explored.