Re: speed and velocity

[brian whatcott <inet@INTELLISYS.NET>]

At 23:06 11/24/98 -0600, H Scott Wiley wrote:
> Hi,
> ...
>     Is it correct to say that a "velocity" of -4 m/s < +2 m/s ?
> (and therefore that position increases when v>0, velocity increases when
> a>0, etc.)  I have seen this suggested in several books, but I don't
> agree.  The negative sign in the representation of a velocity vector
> indicates the direction of the vector based on an arbitrarily chosen
> system.  It is equally legitimate to assign down as + and up as -, as it
> is to assign up as + and down as -.  When we compare two velocities or
> decide when velocity is increasing or decreasing (a comparison), aren't
> we really comparing "speeds"?
>
> H. Scott Wiley
> Weslaco High School
> Weslaco, TX
Scott's assertion on the use of velocity where speed would be more
appropriate,
strikes a sympathetic chord with me.
   I cannot escape grouping this usage with syntactic errors of English  like
using the nominative personal pronoun after a preposition: It is quite
pretentious
according to ...er... my wife and I.

   But then, I recall the wonderful piece in New Scientist from the hapless
soul
who was marked down on his thesis, so to speak, because the passive was
steadfastly disdained by he.    Now THAT is indeed scientific heresy!

Brian Whatcott

p.s. Not for the first time on this list, having hit "reply", I needed to
change the addressee from the contributor to the list address.
brian whatcott <inet@intellisys.net>
Altus OK