the axiom which we have abandoned we must substitute equation (7).
Before investigating the consequences of this step it is necessary to define exactly the principal mechanical quantities which we are to use.
Extension in space (l) and time (t) will be measured in the usual way and the centimetre and the second will be employed as units.
Force (f) will be given its usual significance and the unit, the dyne, will be that force which, acting upon the International standard kilogram, when the latter is at rest, imparts to it an initial acceleration of ⋅001.
The momentum (M) of a moving body will be measured by the time in which it is brought to rest under the influence of a constant opposing force of one dyne acting in the line of its motion.
The mass (m) of a moving body will be defined as the momentum divided by the velocity (v), that is,
| . | (10) |
The limiting ratio of the momentum of a body to its velocity, when it is brought to rest, will be called its mass when at rest. The unit of mass is the gram.
The kinetic energy (E') of a body will be measured by the distance through which it will move before being brought to rest by a constant opposing force of one dyne, acting in the line or the body's motion. The unit of energy will be the erg.
These definitions, although somewhat unusual in form, are perfectly consistent with the ordinary definitions of Newtonian mechanics. But they have been so chosen as to be consistent also with equation (7) and the fundamental conservation laws. Obviously equation (7) itself is not inconsistent with these conservation laws, for although a body increases in mass as it gains kinetic energy, some other system is losing the same mass as it loses the same energy.
In accordance with the above definitions we may write
| , | (11) |
| . | (12) |
Let us consider a body originally moving with a velocity v subjected for the time dt to a force f in the line of its motion.
