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Re: Impulse

Justin asked:

What about using the term impulse to describe a large but exceptionally
brief
force? Is this a well defined concept?

Justin Parke

Impulse is already a well-defined concept! Impulse is >the total change in
momentum caused by application of a force over some >time interval. It can
be found by integrating Fdt, but it's still the change >in momentum.

I think my question was misunderstood. I understand the concept of impulse as the time integral of a force. This definition remains true regardless of the time interval. In other cases "an impulse" means a force over a vanishingly small time interval (like a hammer striking a bowling ball). These uses of the term impulse are not identical. The first is well defined, the second does not seem as well defined to me, and even if it is, it doesn not mean exactly the same thing as the first.

Comments?

Justin