RG <rnospa...@flownet.com> wrote: +--------------- | r...@rpw3.org (Rob Warnock) wrote: | > Write it our longhand and it's easier to grok: | > 9.8 m/s^2 ==> 9.8 m/(s*s) ==> 9.8 m/(s*s) ==> | > (9.8 meters per second) per second. | > \ / | > \__ speed added __/ per second | | Oh, that part I get. It's the abstract squared second that's still a | deep mystery to me. +---------------
As far as I know, there is no "abstract squared second" anywhere, other than in formulae in which collecting the dimensions (as above) ends up having an exponent of "2". That is, acceleration really *is* "(distance / s) / s". It only gets to be "distance/(s^2)" when you collect terms. +--------------- | A squared length is easily visualized. But according to relativity | space and time are just two aspects of the same thing, so a squared | second should make some kind of physical sense. +--------------- Why should it?!? If you look way under the covers, I suspect that even the "c^2" in "E = mc^2" is a "collected" term in the above sense [that is, if I recall my classes in introductory special relativity correctly]. -Rob ----- Rob Warnock <r...@rpw3.org> 627 26th Avenue <URL:http://rpw3.org/> San Mateo, CA 94403 (650)572-2607 -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
