displacement
(noun)
A vector quantity that denotes distance with a directional component.
(noun)
The length and direction of a straight line between two objects.
Examples of displacement in the following topics:
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Flotation
- But the Archimedes principle states that the buoyant force is the weight of the fluid displaced.
- When any boat displaces a weight of water equal to its own weight, it floats.
- The same is true for vessels in air (as air is a fluid): A dirigible that weighs 100 tons displaces at least 100 tons of air; if it displaces more, it rises; if it displaces less, it falls.
- If the dirigible displaces exactly its weight, it hovers at a constant altitude.
- The volume submerged equals the volume of fluid displaced, which we call $V_\mathrm{fl}$.
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Reference Frames and Displacement
- Frames of reference are particularly important when describing an object's displacement.
- Displacement is the change in position of an object relative to its reference frame.
- The word "displacement" implies that an object has moved or has been displaced.
- where Δx is displacement, xf is the final position, and x0 is the initial position.
- Notice that the arrow representing his displacement is twice as long as the arrow representing the displacement of the professor (he moves twice as far).
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Force in the Direction of Displacement
- The work done by a constant force is proportional to the force applied times the displacement of the object.
- As we have shown, this is proportional to the force and the distance which the object is displaced, not moved.
- Calculate the work done on the box if the box is displaced 5 meters.
- (1.b) Since the box is displaced 5 meters and the force is 2 N, we multiply the two quantities together.
- Regardless of how long it takes, the object will have the same displacement and thus the same work done on it.
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Average Velocity: A Graphical Interpretation
- Average velocity is defined as the change in position (or displacement) over the time of travel.
- In contrast, average velocity is defined as the change in position (or displacement) over the total time of travel .
- When calculating average velocity, however, you are looking at the displacement over time.
- Because you walked in a full rectangle and ended up exactly where you started, your displacement is 0 meters.
- Therefore, your average velocity, or displacement over time, would be 0 m/s.
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Position, Displacement, Velocity, and Acceleration as Vectors
- Position, displacement, velocity, and acceleration can all be shown vectors since they are defined in terms of a magnitude and a direction.
- Most commonly in physics, vectors are used to represent displacement, velocity, and acceleration.
- In physics, vectors are useful because they can visually represent position, displacement, velocity and acceleration.
- Displacement is defined as the distance, in any direction, of an object relative to the position of another object.
- Physicists use the concept of a position vector as a graphical tool to visualize displacements.
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The Simple Pendulum
- For small displacements, a pendulum is a simple harmonic oscillator.
- We begin by defining the displacement to be the arc length s.
- The displacement s is directly proportional to θ.
- where the force constant is given by k=mg/L and the displacement is given by x=s.
- The linear displacement from equilibrium is s, the length of the arc.
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Simple Harmonic Motion
- Simple harmonic motion is a type of periodic motion where the restoring force is directly proportional to the displacement.
- Simple harmonic motion is a type of periodic motion where the restoring force is directly proportional to the displacement (i.e., it follows Hooke's Law) .
- where m is the mass of the oscillating body, x is its displacement from the equilibrium position, and k is the spring constant.
- Each of these constants carries a physical meaning of the motion: A is the amplitude (maximum displacement from the equilibrium position), ω = 2πf is the angular frequency, and φ is the phase.
- Relate the restoring force and the displacement during the simple harmonic motion
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Pictures of Modes
- ., places where the displacement is zero).
- These are two snapshots of the instantaneous displacement of the plane when being driven in one of its modes.
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Conditions for Wave Interference: Reflection due to Phase Change
- When two or more waves are incident on the same point, the total displacement at that point is equal to the vector sum of the displacements of the individual waves.
- If a crest of one wave meets a crest of another wave of the same frequency at the same point, then the magnitude of the displacement is the sum of the individual magnitudes.
- In this case, the magnitude of the displacements is equal to the difference in the individual magnitudes, and occurs when this difference is an odd multiple of π.
- If the difference between the phases is intermediate between these two extremes, then the magnitude of the displacement of the summed waves lies between the minimum and maximum values.
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Longitudinal Waves
- Like transverse waves, longitudinal waves do not displace mass.
- It is important to remember that energy, in this case in the form of a pulse, is being transmitted and not the displaced mass.
- Matter in the medium is periodically displaced by a sound wave, and thus oscillates.