Yes it's important because there are many equations which rely on velocity as a variable, not speed.
If you're computing a speed, you need to accumulate the distance travelled over time. If you're computing a velocity, you're working with deltas. In more explicit terms, if you're computing motion vectors, you're comparing the current frame to the previous frame. If you're computing speed, you're comparing the current frame to the first frame. How you code for those scenarios is vastly different. Matt From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Steven Caron Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 11:58 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Difference between a force and a velocity ? is that distinctions helpful here? i mean we aren't just going to render the last frame of our particle going around the track, we are going to render 1440 frames (24fps*60secs) and at each frame the instantaneous velocity is going to have some direction and magnitude. On Wed, Feb 13, 2013 at 11:13 AM, Matt Lind <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Velocity = net displacement / time. Force = Mass * Acceleration NOTE: Speed and velocity are very different. Speed is distance traveled over time (scalar) Velocity is net displacement over time (vector) Example: Running around a track in a stadium. If you make a complete lap in 60 seconds, then your speed is 6.66 meters per second, while your velocity is 0 meters per second because you haven't been displaced from your starting position. Matt -----Original Message----- From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf Of olivier jeannel Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 1:50 AM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Difference between a force and a velocity ? Hi list, Asking this question with no shame ^^; This might be basic, but what is the difference between a force and a velocity ? Sorry for being half brained...
