Abstract

This paper addresses the origin of the forces of inertia. It proposes a Newton-Mach particle interaction force between all pairs of particles that depends on their relative acceleration and is proportional to the gravitational force between them. The motion of all objects therefore becomes directly influenced by all of the matter in the universe, as prescribed by Mach's principle. The effect of the observed hierarchical structure of the universe is considered and is used to ensure that the inertial force on an object is finite and isotropic. The instantaneous matter interaction force is justified and both Einstein's and Mach's objections to a Newtonian framework are discussed and shown to be absorbed by the proposed universal law of inertia.