What is the difference between inertial and gravitational mass?

Inertial mass is the mass defined by Newton's famous equation


Force = mass x acceleration

Gravitational mass is the mass defined by;

Force = mass x acceleration due to gravity

Einstein proposed that inertial and gravitational mass were identical physically, even though they appear in two different equations defining forces and accelerated motion. Einstein's conjecture, which forms the basis for general relativity, has been tested with increasing precision, and the equality:

inertial mass = gravitational mass
has been found to hold to 1 part in a million or so, I believe. What isn't know is whether matter and anti-matter behave the same way, only that inertial and gravitational masses based on ordinary matter seem to be identical.
Copyright 1997 Dr. Sten Odenwald
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