WHAT IS MOMENTUM?

Definition

Momentum is a classical physics term where it is calculated by the multiplication of the object’s mass and velocity. It is a vector like velocity that’s why it has value and direction.

Formula

$latex M = m v$

Where M is momentum,

m is mass,

v is velocity.

Relation between momentum and force

We can say force is the multiplication of acceleration and mass according to Newton’s law. Since acceleration is the change of velocity by time (in mathematical terms velocity / time), we can easily see there is a relation that can be created between these concepts:

$latex M = F d$

Where M is momentum, F is force and d is distance. If you take F as newton and d as meter you will get Newton meter as a unit very clearly.

Daily life

Although momentum seems like very theoratical we experience it in our daily life very often. We use cars, we travel with bus or planes. You may not seen them around you but they are real. If you use a car with velocity and some mass of course that car is gaining momentum. You can go on with this momentum if you run out of fuel. If we lived in a really ideal conditions according to classical physics we could go on our travel through that direction till the end of time , but we have some frictions and it will slow down and lose its momentum. Here you may confuse about acceleration and momentum but that is normal they are connected to each other very strongly. Another example would be an airplane with some velocity and mass flying through a direction, when motor is shut down it can still glide through with its gained momentum. At last the best way to experience momentum is in car crush (hope it does not happen ). Luckily our engineers calculated that and arranged seat belts and airbags for our safety.