Velocity is the rate of change of the position of an object, equivalent to a specification of its speed and direction of motion, e.g. 60 km/h to the north. Velocity is an important concept in kinematics, the branch of classical mechanics which describes the motion of bodies.
Velocity is a vector physical quantity; both magnitude and direction are required to define it. The scalar absolute value (magnitude) of velocity is called "speed", a quantity that is measured in metres per second (m/s or m·s−1) in the SI (metric) system. For example, "5 metres per second" is a scalar (not a vector), whereas "5 metres per second east" is a vector.
If there is a change in speed, direction, or both, then the object has a changing velocity and is said to be undergoing an acceleration .
Velocity is defined as the rate of change of position with respect to time, i.e.
Although velocity is defined as the rate of change of position, it is more common to start with an expression for an object's acceleration and from there obtain an expression for velocity, which can be done by evaluating
In terms of a displacement-time graph, the velocity can be thought of as the gradient of the tangent line to the curve at any point, and the average velocity as the gradient of the chord line between two points with t coordinates equal to the boundaries of the time period for the average velocity.
The above equations are valid for both Newtonian mechanics and special relativity. Where Newtonian mechanics and special relativity differ is in how different observers would describe the same situation. In particular, in Newtonian mechanics, all observers agree on the value of t and the transformation rules for position create a situation in which all non-accelerating observers would describe the acceleration of an object with the same values. Neither is true for special relativity. In other words only relative velocity can be calculated.
Velocity is a vector physical quantity; both magnitude and direction are required to define it. The scalar absolute value (magnitude) of velocity is called "speed", a quantity that is measured in metres per second (m/s or m·s−1) in the SI (metric) system. For example, "5 metres per second" is a scalar (not a vector), whereas "5 metres per second east" is a vector.
If there is a change in speed, direction, or both, then the object has a changing velocity and is said to be undergoing an acceleration .
Equation of motion
Although velocity is defined as the rate of change of position, it is more common to start with an expression for an object's acceleration and from there obtain an expression for velocity, which can be done by evaluating
In terms of a displacement-time graph, the velocity can be thought of as the gradient of the tangent line to the curve at any point, and the average velocity as the gradient of the chord line between two points with t coordinates equal to the boundaries of the time period for the average velocity.
Constant acceleration
In the special case of constant acceleration, velocity can be studied using the suvat equations. By considering a as being equal to some arbitrary constant vector, it is trivial to show that- .
The above equations are valid for both Newtonian mechanics and special relativity. Where Newtonian mechanics and special relativity differ is in how different observers would describe the same situation. In particular, in Newtonian mechanics, all observers agree on the value of t and the transformation rules for position create a situation in which all non-accelerating observers would describe the acceleration of an object with the same values. Neither is true for special relativity. In other words only relative velocity can be calculated.
0 comments:
Post a Comment