Who is credited with the formulation of the concept of inertia?

The concept of inertia is fundamentally associated with Sir Isaac Newton, particularly outlined in his first law of motion. Inertia refers to the property of matter that causes it to resist changes in its state of motion. Essentially, an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue in motion at a constant speed and in a straight line unless acted upon by a net external force.

Newton articulately formulated this principle in the 17th century, establishing a framework for understanding motion and forces that has been pivotal in physics. This foundational concept laid the groundwork for classical mechanics and is critical for explaining both everyday occurrences and complex physical phenomena.

Although figures like Einstein, Copernicus, and Kepler contributed significantly to the fields of physics and astronomy, their work did not primarily focus on the concept of inertia as Newton did. Thus, the correct answer is indeed attributed to Newton due to his comprehensive approach toward describing motion and forces within the physical world.