Re: reason for "s = distance traveled"

[twayburn@juno.com (Thomas L Wayburn)]

On Sun, 24 Aug 1997 20:26:42 -0700 Leigh Palmer <palmer@sfu.ca> writes:
> I guess I'll drop the other shoe (maybe more than one). Why is "p"
> used for translational momentum, ***because p and q are just naturally
conjugate by shape alone**** or "l" (ell) for angular momentum?
> or theta for angular displacement? ***first polar coordinate***or omega
for angular velocity?  ***Tradition.****
> None of these has an obvious English root, but they are all
> conventional symbols, and many other examples exist. They are,
> after all, just symbols; why is one better than another?  ****because
tradition makes us love one another.   ...  Wow, did that sound dumb!****
> I took a mechanics course from a text by Synge & Griffith. Newton's
> second law was symbolized thus:
>
>                                 p = k m f
>
> where p = force (phorce?), k = an explicit constant to handle
> idiosyncratic units, and f = acceleration (fastering?). Somehow
> mass got represented by "m". p and f are vector quantities, of
> course, and later in the text he uses M for linear momentum! I've
> always assumed that either he was intent on breaking students of
> memorization based on symbols, or else he had some really perverted
> mnemonics in mind.
>
> "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."  *** Call it NMR and no
one wants it; so, change the name to MRI, which has no reference to the
dreaded nuclear menace.  BTW,  beta rays aren't emitted by these
tomography units, are they?***
> Leigh
Hi Leigh, Synge (pronounced sing) is Cathleen Morawetz's Dad.  When
people pronounce his name singe, she just boils.  It is a good Irish
name.  Now, S & G is a very nuts and bolts mechanics book.  It has the
problem of the sliding garage door if I am not mistaken and maybe the
monkey climbing the rope over the pulley.  Weird notation is not a virtue
and certain symbols hold a cherished traditional role that would be hard
to impeach.  One such is lower-case ess for arclength.   The problem is
interesting because it is practically guaranteed to take 'someone' back
to an 'original' work by a 'giant', which should consume a smallish
portion of all scholars time.  At Courant, they said, "Read the masters".
  But, it's hard to do.  A day at the library with Leibnitz in German (or
Gauss) looking for the proximity of the word Strecke or Schnur (cord,
string, line) to the use of lower-case ess for arclength might be a joy
forever?
I think we should care, but not ruin our lives over this.  Regards / Tom