Direction of movement

In physics, the direction of movement describes the direction in which a particle moves.

Above all, this plays a role in the momentum transfer of mass bodies and particles, in which the direction of movement of the particles is changed by impacts and the related momentum transfer. The direction of movement in physics and technology is differentiated according to the existence of linearity or non-linearity in linear movements (called translation ) and non-linear movements (e.g. rotation ).

In general, the direction of movement can be changed by any force acting on the particle .

The direction of movement is usually shown with the help of vectors . In most cases, the six-dimensional phase space ( Hamiltonian mechanics ) is used, which, in addition to the spatial coordinates, also records the impulse coordinates with which the movement is fully characterized.

In astronomy one knows loose star associations or " motion clusters ", the members of which have almost the same, parallel direction of motion. From this you can deduce their joint formation from a huge gas cloud. The first of these groups of stars which was around the turn of the century bears group discovered.

See also:

• Speed ​​measurement
• Deflection angle