Site Glossary

A simplified representation that ignores complicating effects.

Velocity immediately before striking a surface.

the tendency of an object to resist changes in its motion.

Electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths longer than visible light, often emitted by cooler objects.

An object’s position at the chosen starting time.

(v_i)– Velocity at the beginning of a time interval.

an infinitesimally small moment in time, where a quantity is measured or observed at a specific point.

The speed of an object at a particular moment in time.

Velocity at a particular moment.

an instrument that uses interference, often of laser light, to make extremely precise measurements.