Aakashdeep Dhiman
Last Activity: 14 Years ago
In non-relativistic kinematics, relative velocity is the vector difference between the velocities of two objects, as evaluated in terms of a single coordinate system.
For example, if the velocities of particles A and B are
and
respectively in terms of a given coordinate system, then the relative velocity of A with respect to B (also called the velocity of A relative to B,
, or
) is
.
Conversely, the velocity of B relative to A is
.
The expression "the velocity of A relative to B" is shorthand for "the velocity of A in the coordinate system where B is always at rest".