Speed and Velocity in relation to Postition

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the relationship between position, velocity, and speed in the context of vector mathematics. It establishes that when velocity is perpendicular to the position function, the dot product of position and velocity equals zero, confirming that either position or velocity must be zero. The conversation emphasizes that speed, being a scalar quantity, cannot be treated as a vector and thus cannot be subjected to dot product operations to determine perpendicularity. Therefore, the assertion that "speed is perpendicular" is fundamentally flawed due to the nature of speed lacking direction.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of vector mathematics and dot product
  • Knowledge of scalar versus vector quantities
  • Familiarity with one-dimensional motion concepts
  • Basic definitions of position, velocity, and speed
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  • Study the properties of dot products in vector mathematics
  • Explore the differences between scalar and vector quantities in physics
  • Investigate one-dimensional motion and its implications on velocity and position
  • Learn about the geometric interpretation of vectors in physics
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FreshTrooper
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I was going through my basic definitions of postion (in terms of paths), velocity, and speed. The problem I am running into is this:

if you can prove by definition of dot product when velocity is perpendicular to the postion function and that velocity exists, does this mean speed is perpendicular to the position function as well.

So far I just proved to my self that if the angle is 90, cos(90) gives 0, and thus dot product of the postion and velocity is zero. Can the dot product be applied to speed to show speed is perpendicular as well?
 
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In short, speed is not a vector. If v is a scalar, and w is not, it makes no sense to dot v and w. Geometrically, speed is the length of the velocity vector.

For something to chew on, consider the following:

In one dimensional motion, say constrained to the x-axis, then if velocity is perpendicular to position, then (x,0,0)[itex]\cdot[/itex](v,0,0)=xv=0 implies x or v is zero.
 
Last edited:
FreshTrooper said:
Can the dot product be applied to speed to show speed is perpendicular as well?

It's not (only) that the dot product cannot be applied to speed to find the angle.
The expression "speed is perpendicular" does not make sense to start with. Speed is a scalar so does not have a direction associated.
 

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