Abstract
A frame of reference is defined as inertial if the coordinates of bodies, predicted with respect to it on the basis of some mechanical principles, agree with those actually observed. It is pointed out that within the framework of Newtonian mechanics the concept of an inertial frame of reference is global, but within the framework of general relativity only local. The relativistic local inertial frame of the Solar System moves with respect to the Newtonian global frame by the amount of “geodetic precession”. In all rigor, the concept of a globally privileged inertial system has been rendered meaningless by general relativity, even though the concept of an inertial reference frame remains useful in contemporary celestial mechanics. It is further pointed out that none of the practically determined approximations to an inertial frame of reference (e.g., the dynamical reference frame of celestial mechanics, the FK5) must be regarded as a definition of an inertial system itself.
Published Version
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