Momentum Calculator
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The concept of momentum was first formulated by René Descartes in the 17th century and refined by Isaac Newton in his laws of motion. This fundamental property of moving objects has become central to our understanding of classical mechanics and modern physics.
While both momentum (p=mv) and kinetic energy (KE=½mv²) involve mass and velocity, they serve different purposes. Momentum is a vector quantity that describes an object's motion tendency and is conserved in collisions, while kinetic energy is a scalar quantity representing the energy of motion. The key difference lies in their velocity dependence: momentum is proportional to velocity, while kinetic energy is proportional to velocity squared.
Impulse and momentum are linked through the impulse-momentum theorem, which states that the impulse (force × time) applied to an object equals its change in momentum. This relationship (J = F×t = Δp) is crucial in analyzing collisions and impacts. For example, safety devices like airbags work by increasing collision time to reduce the force while achieving the same change in momentum.
Momentum is conserved in collisions due to Newton's third law of motion (for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction) and the absence of external forces. In any collision, the total momentum before equals the total momentum after, though kinetic energy may not be conserved. This principle applies to everything from subatomic particles to galaxies, making it one of physics' most fundamental conservation laws.