equation of motion

noun

1. an equation describing the rate of change with time of the velocity of a body, a collection of particles, or a fluid.

Word History and Origins

Origin of equation of motion¹

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

Modern physics is built on the assumption that if we have perfect knowledge about a system, then we can predict its future and infer its past by solving the equation of motion.

Read more on Scientific American

To find out, we can write down an equation of motion linking the two types of mass: inertial mass on one side of the equation and gravitational mass on the other.

Read more on Scientific American

As for Parky's wholly unwarranted slight on Rin Tin Tin, one can only conclude that having spent so long entombed in those celebrity colons, he lacks the perspective required to appreciate what F Scott Fitzgerald called "the whole equation" of motion pictures.

Read more on The Guardian