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What is Dynamics?
Dynamics is the general name given to the study of the accelerated  motion of bodies and the forces that cause the motion of those bodies.  Dynamics is separated into two areas: kinematics and kinetics.  Kinematics is the study of motion itself without reference to the forces which cause the motion.  Kinetics, on the other hand, relates the motion of bodies to the forces causing their motion. The principle in dynamics are used to analyze moving structures, fixed structures subject to shock loads, etc. 
Important Definitions Displacement
Velocity
Speed
Acceleration
Work
Power
Conservative Force
Potential Energy
Kinetic Energy
Impact

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Displacement
The displacement of an object or particle is defined as its change in position, from point A to point B. 
                                                                   
Velocity
Instantaneous velocity (or just velocity) is defined as the rate of change of the particle's position x, or dx/dt.  Velocity is a Vector quantity. 

                                                                  

Speed
Speed is the magnitude of velocity and it is a Scalar with no assigned direction. 
                                                                  
Acceleration
Instantaneous acceleration (or just acceleration) is the time derivative (dv/dt or d2x/dt) of velocity or the rate of change of the velocity. For more on speed and acceleration visit: http://www.gcse.com/fm/sdt.htm              
Work
A force does work on a body when the body undergoes a displacement in the direction of the force. Work is a scalar quantity, and it is determined by integrating the dot product of the force and the finite displacement element.  For more about work visit: http://cpphysics.homestead.com/energyt.html.

                                                                 

Power
Power is the amount of work performed per unit time, which is the time derivative of work. Power is a scalar quantity. 
                                                                
Conservative Force
A force is conservative if the work done by the force on a body is independent of the path followed by the body.  Weight is a conservative force. 
                                                               
Potential Energy
Potential energy is the measure of the amount of work a conservative force will do on an object when moving it from a certain position to another position. 
                                                               
Kinetic Energy
Kinetic energy is defined as energy in motion. 
                                                               
Impact
Impact occurs when two bodies collide with each other during a very short period of time, and cause relatively large forces to be exerted between the bodies. 
                                                               


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Last Updated: 12 July 2002
© 2002 Dustin Jordy