Definition:Equation of Motion

Definition

An equation of motion is a second order ordinary differential equation of the form:

$m \dfrac {\d^2 \mathbf r} {\d t^2} = \map {\mathbf F} {\mathbf r}$

where:

$\mathbf r$ is the position vector of a particle of mass $m$ moving under a force $\mathbf F$ as a function of time $t$.

Also see

• Results about equations of motion can be found here.

Sources

• 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): equation of motion
• 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): equation of motion