Impulse & Momentum
Momentum is related to force. An object with mass m, gains or loses momentum, depending on the direction of the forse, when a force acts on it for a very brief period of time
Mathematically from Newton's Second Law
- The left side of the above equation is known as the impulse (symbol "J").
- The impulse of an object can be described as the force (that caused the object to change its state of motion) acting on the object for a given period of time.
- Note that impulse is a vector quantity.
- Thus one must also take into account its direction as well as its magnitude.
The unit of j is the N.s
- The right side of the equation is known as the change in momentum.
- The change in momentum of an object is given the symbol ∆p.
- Momentum is also a vector quantity and can be defined as the mass-velocity product.
- Momentum is sometimes used as an indicator for the inertia of an object.
The unit of ∆p is the Kg.m/s
In general, for an object in motion, we can say the the impulse is equal to the change in momentum.