Velocity

The velocity of an object is t he rat e of change of it s posit ion wit h respect t o a frame of
reference, and is a funct ion of t ime. Velocit y is equivalent t o a specificat ion of an object 's speed
and direct ion of mot ion (e.g. 60 km/h t o t he nort h). Velocit y is a fundament al concept in
kinemat ics, t he branch of classical mechanics t hat describes t he mot ion of bodies.

Velocity

As a change of direction occurs while the racing cars turn on the curved track, their velocity is not
constant.

Common symbols v, v, →v
Other units mph, ft/s

In SI base units m/s

Dimension L T −1

Velocit y is a physical vect or quant it y; bot h magnit ude and direct ion are needed t o define it . The
scalar absolut e value (magnit ude) of velocit y is called speed, being a coherent derived unit
whose quant it y is measured in t he SI (met ric syst em) as met res per second (m/s or m⋅s−1). For
example, "5 met res per second" is a scalar, whereas "5 met res per second east " is a vect or. If
t here is a change in speed, direct ion or bot h, t hen t he object has a changing velocit y and is said
t o be undergoing an acceleration.

Constant velocity vs acceleration

To have a constant velocity, an object must have a const ant speed in a const ant direct ion.
Const ant direct ion const rains t he object t o mot ion in a st raight pat h t hus, a const ant velocit y
means mot ion in a st raight line at a const ant speed.

For example, a car moving at a const ant 20 kilomet res per hour in a circular pat h has a const ant
speed, but does not have a const ant velocit y because it s direct ion changes. Hence, t he car is
considered t o be undergoing an accelerat ion.

Difference between speed and velocity

Kinematic quantities of a classical particle: mass m, position r, velocity v, acceleration a.

Speed, t he scalar magnit ude of a velocit y vect or, denot es only how fast an object is moving.[1][2]

Equation of motion

Average velocity
Velocit y is defined as t he rat e of change of posit ion wit h respect t o t ime, which may also be
referred t o as t he instantaneous velocity t o emphasize t he dist inct ion from t he average velocit y.
In some applicat ions t he average velocity of an object might be needed, t hat is t o say, t he
const ant velocit y t hat would provide t he same result ant displacement as a variable velocit y in
vt
t he same t ime int erval, ( ), over some t ime period Δt. Average velocit y can be calculat ed as:

The average velocit y is always less t han or equal t o t he average speed of an object . This can be
seen by realizing t hat while dist ance is always st rict ly increasing, displacement can increase or
decrease in magnit ude as well as change direct ion.

In t erms of a displacement -t ime (x vs. t) graph, t he inst ant aneous velocit y (or, simply, velocit y)
can be t hought of as t he slope of t he t angent line t o t he curve at any point , and t he average
velocit y as t he slope of t he secant line bet ween t wo point s wit h t coordinat es equal t o t he
boundaries of t he t ime period for t he average velocit y.

The average velocit y is t he same as t he velocit y averaged over t ime – t hat is t o say, it s t ime-
weight ed average, which may be calculat ed as t he t ime int egral of t he velocit y:

where we may ident ify

and

Instantaneous velocity
Example of a velocity vs. time graph, and the relationship between velocity v on the y-axis, acceleration a (the three green
tangent lines represent the values for acceleration at different points along the curve) and displacement s (the yellow area
under the curve.)

If we consider v as velocit y and x as t he displacement (change in posit ion) vect or, t hen we can
express t he (inst ant aneous) velocit y of a part icle or object , at any part icular t ime t, as t he
derivat ive of t he posit ion wit h respect t o t ime:

From t his derivat ive equat ion, in t he one-dimensional case it can be seen t hat t he area under a
v t x
velocit y vs. t ime ( vs. graph) is t he displacement , . In calculus t erms, t he int egral of t he
velocit y funct ion v(t) is t he displacement funct ion x(t). In t he figure, t his corresponds t o t he
yellow area under t he curve labeled s (s being an alt ernat ive not at ion for displacement ).

Since t he derivat ive of t he posit ion wit h respect t o t ime gives t he change in posit ion (in met res)
divided by t he change in t ime (in seconds), velocit y is measured in met res per second (m/s).
Alt hough t he concept of an inst ant aneous velocit y might at first seem count er-int uit ive, it may
be t hought of as t he velocit y t hat t he object would cont inue t o t ravel at if it st opped
accelerat ing at t hat moment .

Relationship to acceleration
Alt hough velocit y is defined as t he rat e of change of posit ion, it is oft en common t o st art wit h
an expression for an object 's accelerat ion. As seen by t he t hree green t angent lines in t he figure,
an object 's inst ant aneous accelerat ion at a point in t ime is t he slope of t he line t angent t o t he
vt
curve of a ( ) graph at t hat point . In ot her words, accelerat ion is defined as t he derivat ive of
velocit y wit h respect t o t ime:

at
From t here, we can obt ain an expression for velocit y as t he area under an ( ) accelerat ion vs.
t ime graph. As above, t his is done using t he concept of t he int egral:

Constant acceleration

In t he special case of const ant accelerat ion, velocit y can be st udied using t he suvat equat ions.
By considering a as being equal t o some arbit rary const ant vect or, it is t rivial t o show t hat

v t u as t he velocit y at t ime t = 0. By combining t his equat ion

wit h as t he velocit y at t ime and
wit h t he suvat equat ion x = ut + at /2, it is possible t o relat e t he displacement and t he average
2

velocit y by

It is also possible t o derive an expression for t he velocit y independent of t ime, known as t he

Torricelli equat ion, as follows:

where v = | v | et c.
The above equat ions are valid for bot h Newt onian mechanics and special relat ivit y. Where
Newt onian mechanics and special relat ivit y differ is in how different observers would describe
t he same sit uat ion. In part icular, in Newt onian mechanics, all observers agree on t he value of t
and t he t ransformat ion rules for posit ion creat e a sit uat ion in which all non-accelerat ing
observers would describe t he accelerat ion of an object wit h t he same values. Neit her is t rue for
special relat ivit y. In ot her words, only relat ive velocit y can be calculat ed.

Quantities that are dependent on velocity

The kinet ic energy of a moving object is dependent on it s velocit y and is given by t he equat ion

ignoring special relat ivit y, where Ek is t he kinet ic energy and m is t he mass. Kinet ic energy is a
scalar quant it y as it depends on t he square of t he velocit y, however a relat ed quant it y,
moment um, is a vect or and defined by

In special relat ivit y, t he dimensionless Lorent z fact or appears frequent ly, and is given by

where γ is t he Lorent z fact or and c is t he speed of light .

Escape velocit y is t he minimum speed a ballist ic object needs t o escape from a massive body
such as Eart h. It represent s t he kinet ic energy t hat , when added t o t he object 's gravit at ional
pot ent ial energy, (which is always negat ive) is equal t o zero. The general formula for t he escape
velocit y of an object at a dist ance r from t he cent er of a planet wit h mass M is

where G is t he Gravit at ional const ant and g is t he Gravit at ional accelerat ion. The escape velocit y
from Eart h's surface is about 11 200 m/s, and is irrespect ive of t he direct ion of t he object . This
makes "escape velocit y" somewhat of a misnomer, as t he more correct t erm would be "escape
speed": any object at t aining a velocit y of t hat magnit ude, irrespect ive of at mosphere, will leave
t he vicinit y of t he base body as long as it doesn't int ersect wit h somet hing in it s pat h.

Relative velocity

Relative velocity is a measurement of velocit y bet ween t wo object s as det ermined in a single
coordinat e syst em. Relat ive velocit y is fundament al in bot h classical and modern physics, since
many syst ems in physics deal wit h t he relat ive mot ion of t wo or more part icles. In Newt onian
mechanics, t he relat ive velocit y is independent of t he chosen inert ial reference frame. This is
not t he case anymore wit h special relat ivit y in which velocit ies depend on t he choice of
reference frame.

If an object A is moving wit h velocit y vect or v and an object B wit h velocit y vect or w, t hen t he
velocit y of object A relative to object B is defined as t he difference of t he t wo velocit y vect ors:

Similarly, t he relat ive velocit y of object B moving wit h velocit y w, relat ive t o object A moving
wit h velocit y v is:

Usually, t he inert ial frame chosen is t hat in which t he lat t er of t he t wo ment ioned object s is in
rest .

Scalar velocities

In t he one-dimensional case,[3] t he velocit ies are scalars and t he equat ion is eit her:

, if t he t wo object s are moving in opposit e direct ions, or:

, if t he t wo object s are moving in t he same direct ion.

Polar coordinates
Representation of radial and tangential components of velocity at different moments of linear motion with constant
velocity of the object around an observer O (it corresponds, for example, to the passage of a car on a straight street around
a pedestrian standing on the sidewalk). The radial component can be observed due to the Doppler effect, the tangential
component causes visible changes of the position of the object.

In polar coordinat es, a t wo-dimensional velocit y is described by a radial velocit y, defined as t he

component of velocit y away from or t oward t he origin (also known as velocity made good), and
an angular velocit y, which is t he rat e of rot at ion about t he origin (wit h posit ive quant it ies
represent ing count er-clockwise rot at ion and negat ive quant it ies represent ing clockwise rot at ion,
in a right -handed coordinat e syst em).

The radial and angular velocit ies can be derived from t he Cart esian velocit y and displacement
vect ors by decomposing t he velocit y vect or int o radial and t ransverse component s. The
t ransverse velocit y is t he component of velocit y along a circle cent ered at t he origin.

where

is t he t ransverse velocit y

is t he radial velocit y.
The magnitude of the radial velocity is t he dot product of t he velocit y vect or and t he unit vect or
in t he direct ion of t he displacement .

where is displacement .

The magnitude of the transverse velocity is t hat of t he cross product of t he unit vect or in t he
direct ion of t he displacement and t he velocit y vect or. It is also t he product of t he angular speed
and t he magnit ude of t he displacement .

such t hat

Angular moment um in scalar form is t he mass t imes t he dist ance t o t he origin t imes t he
t ransverse velocit y, or equivalent ly, t he mass t imes t he dist ance squared t imes t he angular
speed. The sign convent ion for angular moment um is t he same as t hat for angular velocit y.

where

is mass

The expression is known as moment of inert ia.

If forces are in t he radial direct ion only wit h
an inverse square dependence, as in t he case of a gravit at ional orbit , angular moment um is
const ant , and t ransverse speed is inversely proport ional t o t he dist ance, angular speed is
inversely proport ional t o t he dist ance squared, and t he rat e at which area is swept out is
const ant . These relat ions are known as Kepler's laws of planet ary mot ion.

See also

Four-velocit y (relat ivist ic version of velocit y for Minkowski spacet ime)

Group velocit y
Hypervelocit y

Phase velocit y

Proper velocit y (in relat ivit y, using t raveler t ime inst ead of observer t ime)

Rapidit y (a version of velocit y addit ive at relat ivist ic speeds)

Terminal velocit y

Velocit y vs. t ime graph

Notes

1. Rowland, Todd (2019). "Velocity Vector" (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/VelocityVector.html) .

Wolfram MathWorld. Retrieved 2 June 2019.

2. Wilson, Edwin Bidwell (1901). Vector analysis: a text-book for the use of students of mathematics and
physics, founded upon the lectures of J. Willard Gibbs (http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.390150009622
85?urlappend=%3Bseq=149) . Yale bicentennial publications. C. Scribner's Sons. p. 125.
hdl:2027/mdp.39015000962285 (https://hdl.handle.net/2027%2Fmdp.39015000962285?urlappend=%
3Bseq=149) . Earliest occurrence of the speed/velocity terminology.

3. Basic principle (http://www.saburchill.com/physics/chapters/0083.html)

References

Robert Resnick and Jearl Walker, Fundamentals of Physics, Wiley; 7 Sub edit ion (June 16,
2004). ISBN 0-471-23231-9.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media relat ed t o Velocity.

physicsabout .com (ht t p://www.physicsabout .com/velocit y/) , Speed and Velocit y

Velocit y and Accelerat ion (ht t p://www.jaredzone.info/2015/08/velocit y-and-accelerat ion.ht m

l)

Int roduct ion t o Mechanisms (ht t p://www.scs.cmu.edu/~rapidprot o/mechanisms/chpt 1.ht ml)

(Carnegie Mellon Universit y)
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