Velocity

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The velocity of a moving object is the distance the object travels in unit time together with the direction of movement. It is usually determined by dividing a fixed distance over the length of time needed to travel that distance. The word speed means about the same thing. Technically, in physics, velocity is a vector quantity, meaning that it not only indicates speed, but also the direction of motion.

  • 1 statute mile ÷ 1 minute = 60 miles per hour
  • 40,000 kilometres ÷ 80 days = 20.83 kilometres per hour
  • 2,551 nautical miles ÷ 6hr06min = 418 knots

The current understanding of physics holds that c, the speed of light through a vacuum (about 300 million meters per second), is the absolute upper limit of velocity for anything that can be touched. In other words, this means nothing can go faster than the speed of light.