kinematics

Also known as kinology

Kinematics is a subfield of physics and a branch of geometry. In physics, kinematics studies the geometrical aspects of motion of physical objects independent of forces that set them in motion. Constrained motion such as linked machine parts are also described as kinematics. In geometry, kinematics studies the time dependence of geometrical quantities such as position, distance and angular measure with respect to a frame of reference. Most frequently, the quantities that kinematics deals with are the time derivatives of these quantities and the relations between them. Objects whose motion is

AI overview

Kinematics is the study of how things move through space and time, focusing on describing their position, speed, and direction without worrying about what forces caused that motion. It matters because it provides the mathematical tools to understand and predict the paths of objects—from planets orbiting in space to parts moving in machines—by tracking how their position and speed change over time.

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Commons category: Kinematics

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~43 min read

Article

36 sections

Contents

Overview
Etymology
Kinematics of a particle trajectory in a non-rotating frame of reference
Velocity and speed
Acceleration
Relative position vector
Relative velocity
Relative acceleration
Particle trajectories in cylindrical-polar coordinates
Constant radius
Planar circular trajectories
Point trajectories in a body moving in the plane
Displacements and motion
Matrix representation
Pure translation
Rotation of a body around a fixed axis
Position
Velocity
Acceleration
Point trajectories in body moving in three dimensions
Position
Velocity
Acceleration
Kinematic constraints
Kinematic coupling
Rolling without slipping
Inextensible cord
Kinematic pairs
Lower pair
Higher pairs
Kinematic chains
Examples
See also
References
Further reading
External links

Kinematics is concerned with systems of specification of objects' positions and velocities and mathematical transformations between such systems. These systems may be rectangular like Cartesian, Curvilinear coordinates like polar coordinates or other systems. The object trajectories may be specified with respect to other objects which may themselves be in motion relative to a standard reference. Rotating systems may also be used.