Mechanics (Physics)
WEeb.in Team Science Total Views: 543 Posted: Feb 6, 2020 Updated: Oct 4, 2026
MECHANICS
- The action or process of moving or being moved is called motion.
- Important Terms in Mechanics:
| Speed | The rate at which someone or something is able to move or operate This is the scalar quantity of Velocity |
| Velocity | The distance covered by an object in a specified direction in unit time interval is called velocity |
| Accelaration | Acceleration, in physics, is the rate of change of velocity of an object with respect to time |
| Acceleration Due to Gravity | The acceleration which is gained by an object because of gravitational force is called its acceleration due to gravity. The acceleration due to gravity at the surface of Earth is represented as g. |
| Force | Something that causes a change in the motion of an object |
| There are two types of Forces | Centripetal Force: a force which acts on a body moving in a circular path and is directed towards the center around which the body is moving.
Centrifugal Force: a force, arising from the body’s inertia, which appears to act on a body moving in a circular path and is directed away from the center around which the body is moving. |
| Mass: the quantity of matter in a body regardless of its volume or of any forces acting on it and is an independent Quantity.
SI Units of Mass : Kg |
Weight: the force exerted on a body by gravity and is dependent quantity. The value of weight changes on earth, moon, mars etc…however the mass of the body remains constant everywhere.
SI Unit of Weight : Newton |
IMPORTANT INSTRUMENTS AND DEVICES IN PHYSICS
| Electricity Meter | Device used to measure energy directly in kilowatt hours |
| Gas Meter | Device used to measure energy indirectly by recording the volume of gas used |
| Speedometer | A gauge that measures and displays the instantaneous speed of a vehicle |
| Tachometer | An instrument used to measure the rotation speed of a shaft or disk, as in a motor or other machine |
| Tachymeter | Scale used to compute a speed based on travel time or measure distance based on speed |
| Variometer | one of the flight instruments in an aircraft used to inform the pilot of the rate of descent or climb |
| Planimeter | A device used to determine the area of an arbitrary two-dimensional shape |
| Accelerometer | Is a device that used to measure proper acceleration |
| Anemometer | a device used for measuring the speed of wind |
| Barometer | Is a scientific instrument used in meteorology to measure atmospheric pressure |
| Dynamometer | is a device for measuring force, torque, or power |
| Ammeter | a measuring instrument used to measure the current in a circuit |
| Galvanometer | an electromechanical instrument used for detecting and indicating electric current |
| Voltmeter | an instrument used for measuring electrical potential difference between two points in an electric circuit |
| Ohmmeter | an electrical instrument that measures electrical resistance, the opposition to an electric current |
| Actinometer | instrument used to measure the heating power of radiation |
| Pyranometer | Similar to Actinometer designed to measure the solar radiation flux density |
| Pyrometer | remote-sensing thermometer used to measure the temperature of a surface |
| Viscometer | an instrument used to measure the viscosity of a fluid |
| Tensiometer | an instrument used to measure the surface tension of liquids or surfaces |
| Seismometer | an instrument that measures motion of the ground caused by activities like an earthquake, a volcanic eruption etc… |
| Densitometer | a device for measuring the density of a material. |
| Spectrometer | a scientific instrument originally used to split light into an array of separate colors. |
| Hygrometer | an instrument used for measuring the water vapor in the atmosphere, in soil, or in confined spaces |
| Spirometer | an apparatus for measuring the volume of air inspired and expired by the lungs |
| Calorimeter | an apparatus for measuring the amount of heat involved in a chemical reaction or other process. |
| Fathometer | depth finder for determining depth of water or a submerged object by means of ultrasound waves |
| Hydrometer | an instrument for measuring the density of liquids. |
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