Showing posts with label kinematics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kinematics. Show all posts

Friday, April 25, 2008

Distance -> Velocity -> Acceleration ->?

http://www.minimotosgo.com/img/drag.jpg

I find it fascinating that you can be charged/fined - not just for driving faster than the speed limit- but if your acceleration is too great. Apparently it is illegal to 'drag' race somebody stopped at a red traffic light- even if your car never actually exceeds the speed limit. Who knew? This is the sort of issue that should have been raised when i was studying calculus about 20 years ago!

But why stop at acceleration?

The rate of change of 'distance' is 'velocity'.
The rate of change of 'velocity' is 'acceleration'.

But what do you call the rate of change of acceleration, or the rate of change of the rate of change of acceleration or.... you get the point.

Believe it or not.. there actually are terms for these but apparently they're not all that widely accepted. Once again to the rescue wikipedia-

The rate of change of 'acceleration' is 'jerk' ...or possibly 'jolt' or 'surge' or 'lurch'
The rate of change of 'jerk' is 'snap'.. or possibly 'jounce'.
The rate of change of 'snap' is 'crackle'
The rate of change of 'crackle' is 'pop'
And since nobody else has claimed it i now official stake my claim to name the next kinematic derivative thus:

The rate of change of 'pop' is 'whoa!'

"I'm sorry officer- was it my acceleration, my jerk or my snap, crackle, pop or whoa!?"