[Oreo]

My friend and i are arguing whether speed (e.g., 20mph..40mph etc) is Logarithmic, i say it's not - he says it is, and i can't find the answer on google ! someone please tell me the answer

By logarithmic, i mean for example Decibels is Logarithmic, the PH scale is logarithmic etc.

Thanks.

[synergy]

I would say no. Decibels, PH etc. are measurements based on the laws of physics whereas speed is an arbitrary measurement (hence the different units...MPH, KMH, Knots, etc.) It's the same as saying that the calendar is logarithmic.

[Apokalipse]

Originally Posted by Oreo

My friend and i are arguing whether speed (e.g., 20mph..40mph etc) is Logarithmic, i say it's not - he says it is, and i can't find the answer on google ! someone please tell me the answer

By logarithmic, i mean for example Decibels is Logarithmic, the PH scale is logarithmic etc.

Thanks.

no, it's linear.
40KM/H is twice the speed of 20KM/H, 80KM/H is 4 times the speed of 20KM/H

In a logarithmic unit of measurement, depending on the base, 10 units could be 10 times more (in linear magnitude) than 9

[ComatoseClown]

Originally Posted by Apokalipse

no, it's linear.
40KM/H is twice the speed of 20KM/H, 80KM/H is 4 times the speed of 20KM/H

In a logarithmic unit of measurement, depending on the base, 10 units could be 10 times more (in linear magnitude) than 9

correct, it is linear not logarithmic

[Oreo]

Okay now he's trying to make out Acceleration is logarithmic, this doesn't seem as obvious to me (But then i dont even have a qualification in maths yet) so, is it ?

edit:
After some thinking, seems for sure it's linear - right ?

[synergy]

Correct. Acceleration is still speed, it's just a different state. It is still measured linearly in MPH, KMH, etc, only you are gaining speed. The force that causes acceleration, depending on what it is (combustion, thrust, or whatever), could be a logarithmic measurement.

[mssssee2]

Acceleration is not linear, it is a curve that's how at least i see it...
Speed can be illustrated as a line on a diagram s/t and acceleration can be illustrated as a curve on a diagram s/t, that's because the amount of gaining speed is increasing every second. Well it might also depend on how we make the measurement if you take a diagram v/t you'll get a linear equation, so you can't really say that speed/acceleration is linear in general, but only on some certain numeric data, not just random numbers. I guess that at some certain points it can also be logarithmic but not in general... Sorry for my bad Math/Physics - English, didn't really get the time to learn much of it

[ricanflow]

Yeah acceleration is still a measurement of speed, just not a constant force but an increasing amount of it.

[Oreo]

Thanks guys