Impulse & Momentum

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Impulse and momentum are two very simple and very powerful concepts in physics that are very closely related.

An Analogy

A mood is something you have - you are happy, sad, etc. - it is a characteristic of your current state of being. In the same way, momentum is something that an object has - it is a characteristic of its current physical state.

A "pop quiz" in physics is something that happens to you. In the same way, an impulse is something that happens to an object.

Just like a pop quiz in physics can affect your mood, an impulse will affect the momentum of an object.

last update April 9, 2000 by JL Stanbrough