kinematics

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   The part of physics that describes how objects move, using position, speed and acceleration, without asking what forces cause the movement.

   Grammar: Takes a singular verb like physics: kinematics is a basic topic.

   Patterns

   • the kinematics of something

   In the first unit, we studied the kinematics of a ball thrown into the air.

   Kinematics tells you how fast a car is going, but not why.

   The engineers used kinematics to plan the robot arm's path.

2. 2noununcountablebiology

   The pattern of movement of a particular body or machine, such as the joints of a limb.

   Grammar: Used with of: the kinematics of the knee.

   Patterns

   • the kinematics of something

   Researchers filmed the sprinter to analyze her running kinematics.

   The kinematics of a bird's wing are far from simple.

   A change in knee kinematics may cause pain.

Common combinations

inverse kinematics

Animators use inverse kinematics to move a character's arm.

forward kinematics

The program applies forward kinematics to find the hand position.

the kinematics of motion

The course covers the kinematics of motion.

joint kinematics

Joint kinematics can reveal a gait problem.

kinematics equations

Students memorize the kinematics equations for constant acceleration.

Synonyms and how they differ

motion study

Motion study is a plain phrase for the same idea but it is informal and imprecise.

mechanics

Mechanics is the wider field including forces, so kinematics is only one part of it.

Opposites

Word family

kinematic adjective

relating to kinematics

kinematically adverb

in terms of motion

kinetic adjective

relating to energy of movement

kinesiology noun

the study of body movement

Commonly confused: kinematics or kinetics?

Practice

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