What is momentum?

  • (noun): The product of a body's mass and its velocity.
    Example: "The momentum of the particles was deduced from meteoritic velocities"
    See also — Additional definitions below

Momentum

In classical mechanics, linear momentum or translational momentum (pl. momenta; SI unit kg m/s, or, equivalently, N s) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. For example, a heavy truck moving fast has a large momentum—it takes a large and prolonged force to get the truck up to this speed, and it takes a large and prolonged force to bring it to a stop afterwards. If the truck were lighter, or moving slower, then it would have less momentum.

Read more about Momentum.

Some articles on momentum:

Momentum - History of The Concept
... Byzantine philosopher John Philoponus developed a concept of momentum in his commentary to Aristotle's Physics ... This should not be read as a statement of the modern law of momentum, since he had no concept of mass as distinct from weight and size, and more importantly he believed that it is ... The first correct statement of the law of conservation of momentum was by English mathematician John Wallis in his 1670 work, Mechanica sive De Motu, Tractatus Geometricus "the initial state of the body ...
Convection–diffusion Equation - Similar Equations in Other Contexts
... related to the Navier–Stokes equations, because the flow of momentum in a fluid is mathematically similar to the flow of mass or energy ... Navier–Stokes equation is where M is the momentum of the fluid (per unit volume) at each point (equal to the density multiplied by the velocity v), is viscosity, P is fluid pressure, and f is any other ... the term on the left-hand side describes the change in momentum at a given point the first term on the right describes viscosity, which is really the diffusion of ...
Legal Momentum
... Legal Momentum, formerly known as NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, is the oldest legal advocacy group for women in the United States ... Founded in 1970, Legal Momentum is a liberal multi-issue organization dedicated to advancing women’s rights across the country ... In its advocacy role, Legal Momentum maintains a public-access database of current and recent cases in litigation of interest to legal practitioners and people involved in or affected by gender ...
Momentum (finance)
... In finance, momentum is the empirically observed tendency for rising asset prices to rise further, and falling prices to keep falling ... The existence of momentum is a market anomaly, which finance theory struggles to explain ... Students of financial economics have largely attributed the appearance of momentum to cognitive biases, which belong in the realm of behavioral economics ...
Steven Marrs - External Links
... Integrates Interactive Properties into Tribal DDB iMedia Summit interview with Steven Marrs Momentum Entertainment Launches Scripted Division Marketing Agency Momentum Launches Entertainment Company ...

More definitions of "momentum":

  • (noun): An impelling force or strength.
    Example: "The car's momentum carried it off the road"
    Synonyms: impulse