What is mechanical movement?

We invite you to learn what mechanical motion is, how to identify whether an object is moving or stationary, and the relativity of motion and stationary, in the article below.

What is mechanical movement? Picture 1 What is mechanical movement? Picture 1

What is mechanical movement?

Mechanical motion is an aspect of physics, used to describe phenomena related to the movement of objects in space. It includes basic concepts such as velocity, momentum, gravity and machine dynamics.

Mechanical motion is also used to describe physical system phenomena such as waves, acceleration and radiation. It is also used in many fields such as engineering, technology and other fields to solve problems related to the motion of objects.

For example:

Movement of aircraft in the sky.
Movement of ships at sea.

How to determine if an object is moving or at rest

How do you know an object is moving?

An object is considered to be in motion when its position relative to a reference point changes over time, then the object is moving relative to the reference point.

There are many different ways to tell whether an object is moving or not. In Physics, to tell if an object is moving, one relies on the position of that object relative to another object chosen as a reference, called a reference object. If the position of an object changes relative to the reference object over time, then the object is moving relative to the reference object.

For example:

To know if a car is moving on the road, we can compare the position of the car with the electric pole on the side of the road or with the trees on the side of the road. If over time, the position of the car changes with the electric pole, then the car is moving.

To determine whether an object is moving or not, we can use some of the following methods:

Through the eyes : If an object appears to be moving in space, we can consider it to be in motion.
Using measuring devices : We can use measuring devices such as clocks, speedometers or tachometers to determine the speed of an object. If the speed is not zero, we can consider it to be moving.
Using other conditions : We can also determine whether an object is moving by considering other factors such as the force acting on it, the change in the object's position in space, or the change in the object's state (for example, if an object is falling from a height, we can consider it to be moving).

How do you know an object is at rest?

An object is considered to be at rest when its position relative to a reference point does not change over time.

To identify a moving object, people rely on the position of that object relative to another object chosen as a reference, called the reference object. If the position of the object does not change relative to the reference object, then the object is at rest relative to the reference object.

Any object can be chosen as a landmark. Usually people choose the Earth and objects attached to the Earth such as houses, trees, kilometer posts, etc. as landmarks.

For example:

To know if a person on the road is moving, we can compare the position of that person with the electric pole on the road or with the trees on the road. If over time, the position of that person does not change with the electric pole, the person is standing still.

Why are motion and rest relative?

Motion and rest are relative depending on the object chosen as reference. An object can be in motion relative to one object but at rest relative to another.

For example:

A driver sitting in a car is stationary relative to the car (relative to the car seat or to the person sitting in the car) because their position does not change over time relative to the car.

But the driver is in motion relative to the roadside trees because his position changes relative to the roadside trees over time.

What is mechanical movement? Picture 2 What is mechanical movement? Picture 2

For example, relative to the station, the passengers on the train are in motion (moving with the train) because the position of the passengers relative to the station changes over time.

But relative to the train, the passenger on the train is standing still because the passenger's position does not change over time relative to the train.