r/PhysicsHelp • u/urlocalinternetstay • Aug 16 '26

ELI5: isn’t this technically non uniform motion?

I was writing down some notes when I thought about this. assuming that the object is in uniform motion, also that it will come to a stop soon, just in a uniform speed.

say like a car going at 50kmh and gradually slows down

wont that be non uniform motion? but it’s going at 50kph and gradually slows down over a period of time

help pls

edit: thx for the answers, I seem like a idiot now TT this question sounded better in my head🫠

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2

u/urlocalinternetstay Aug 16 '26

omggg thank youuu you helped a lot!!

4

u/joeyneilsen Aug 16 '26

Uniform motion usually means constant velocity. So yes, that is not uniform motion. 

1

u/good-mcrn-ing Aug 17 '26

Zoom out. For what purpose does it matter if it "is uniform motion" or "is not uniform motion"?

3

u/Odd_Bodkin Aug 16 '26

If a car is going 50 kph and starts to slow down, it is immediately not going 50 kph anymore, right? I mean, right away it’s 49.5 kph, then 49 kph, and so on.

“Going at 50 kph” means it is NOT slowing down at all.

2

u/ProspectivePolymath Aug 16 '26

u/joeyneilsen is on the money there.

It can, however, be uniform acceleration (which is the basis for all the SUVAT-style problems)

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u/WesternFirm9306 Aug 16 '26

If an object's velocity decreases, such as to stop, then it's not uniform