explain momentum?

Question

i've looked up in a few books but haven't exactly got the def. of momentum.if someone could just give me the right explanation it'd be very helpful to me.
thanks.

Answer 1

mass times velocity

If you want to read an essay on it, go wiki it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momentum

Answer 2

If two objects collide, and both were going the same speed, what is going to happen? If they stick together (car wreck), the combined mess will move in the direction that the heavier car was going. If they rebound, the lightweight one will be pushed away from the collision site faster than the heavy one. What's less obvious is that if two objects of the same mass run headlong into each other, the combined mess will move in the direction that the faster object was traveling; or if they don't "stick", the slower one will end up with the faster recoil speed. Both of these are examples of "conservation" of momentum, though it can certainly dissipate by transmitting the momentum to surrounding objects, including the air and the ground. You can't "convert" momentum to kinetic energy, but K = (1/2) mv^2 so is ( 0.5 v ) times the scalar value of the momentum. In your glacier example, the momentum should be 10,000,000 kg m/s, someone miscounted decimal places. The KE is momentum times (1/2 v) and comes out to 50 J. Potential energy can be elastic, electrical, or gravitational, I suppose you want the gravitational, which is mgh.

Answer 3

Momentum p = mv; where m is mass and v is the velocity of that mass. Recognize, we are talking about velocity, not speed. That is, velocity v is a vector; it has both magnitude (the speed) and direction. Therefore, p, the momentum of the mass is also a vector with both magnitude and direction.

Momentum is an indirect measure of inertia, a characteristic all mass has. From Newton's first law, because of inertia, momentum cannot be changed unless a net force is applied to the mass. In fact, the change in momentum over time = dp/dt = d(mv)/dt = m dv/dt = ma = f, a net force; where dv/dt = a the acceleration of the mass. Thus, by applying a net force f/m = a the velocity v in p = mv changes; so that the momentum changes with it. When momentum changes, we often say we are overcoming inertia.

Answer 4

momentum = mass times velocity

It describes the inertia, or the ability to continue moving in its current path, that an object possesses. It's why a hardball will continue to fly straight, but a wiffle ball will die off quickly - the hardball has much more mass and therefore contains more momentum.

Momentum is conserved, meaning that it can be transferred from one object to another. It's why billiard balls hit into one another and stop while the one that is hit will move. The mass times velocity tells us how fast the object being hit will move away from the striker.

Answer 5

In classical mechanics, momentum (pl. momenta; SI unit kg m/s, or, equivalently, N·s) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object.It is sometimes referred to as linear momentum to distinguish it from the related subject of angular momentum. Linear momentum is a vector quantity, as it takes into account the direction of the value.

Momentum is a conserved quantity, meaning that the total momentum of any closed system (one not affected by external forces) cannot change.

The concept of momentum in classical mechanics was originated by a number of great thinkers and experimentalists. The first of these was Ibn Sina (Avicenna) circa 1000, who referred to impetus as proportional to weight times velocity. René Descartes later referred to mass times velocity as the fundamental force of motion. Galileo in his Two New Sciences used the term "impeto" (Italian), while Newton's Laws of Motion uses motus (Latin), which has been interpreted by subsequent scholars to mean momentum.

Answer 6

momentum = mass of the object multilied by its veocity

Answer 7

mass times velocity.

hit yourself in the head with an egg, then hit yourself in the head with a rock.