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Volume 12: Pages 125-130, 1999

Orbital Precession and the Nature of Inertia

Francis X. Vacanti

28 Cedar Hill Road, Dover, Massachusetts 02030 U.S.A.

The inverse‐square gravitational force described by Newton is insufficient to explain the observed precession of the elliptical orbits of the planets. General relativity predicts well the rate of precession. The rate of precession is also explainable by an additional force that varies inversely with distance to the fourth power. This implies that the additional force is determined by both the mass and velocity of the gravitating mass. Mass is a gravitationally charged body surrounded by a gravitational field. Movement of the gravitational charge produces an additional field. Production of this additional field requires the input of energy by the application of a force. It is the need to apply force to change the velocity of the mass and therefore the intensity of the additional field that leads to what is commonly referred to as inertia. The additional field is an inertial field.

Keywords: inertia, gravity, field, motion, perihelion, precession

Received: July 29, 1998; Published online: December 15, 2008