I, mat.

I love Physics. I’m always fascinated by the world around me. How infinitestimally tiny particles, governed by the Uncertainty Principle, can form everyday objects, which if large enough, can influence space and time itself, is truly a miracle to even fathom. And to think, just a 100 years ago, we thought we were at the precipice of knowing all there is to know about our physical world.

A friend of mine recently showed me a very cool way, how I can show I am mat.

We start with the definition of an Impulse. Impulse, I, is the change of momentum, p, of an object.

I = Δp

Momentum is simply the mass multipled by its velocity.

p = mv
I = Δ(mv)

Mass is usually constant (unless one is eating while moving around which, according to the superstitions of my culture, means that one will become polygamous), and velocity is usually the property that’s changing.

I = m(Δv)
I = m(v - u)

, where u is initial velocity & v is final velocity.

From Newton’s equations of motion we have the simple equation relating initial and final velocity.

v = u + at

, where a is acceleration and t is time.

u = v - at

We can plug that equation into the equation for impulse derived earlier.

I = m(v - u)
I = m(v - (v - at))
I = m(v - v + at)
I = mat

Therefore, I equals mat. There has never been better proof of this.

Of course, there’s a much simpler way to do this but where’s the fun?

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One Response to “I, mat.”

  1. nori says:

    *two thumbs up*!

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