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Beyond velocity and acceleration: jerk, snap and higher derivatives (2016)

(iopscience.iop.org)
181 points EndXA | 1 comments | 19 Jun 24 10:16 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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marginalia_nu ◴[19 Jun 24 11:14 UTC] No.40727129[source]▶
Do these higher order derivatives say anything meaningful?

I always got the sense from physics that outside of purely mathematical constructions such as Taylor series, higher order time derivatives aren't providing much interesting information. Though I'm not sure whether this is the inherent laziness of physicist math[1] or a property of the forces in nature.

[1] since e^x = 1 + x is generally true, why'd you even need a second order derivative

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1. hristov ◴[19 Jun 24 12:16 UTC] No.40727544[source]▶
Here is a video of a guy that tried to automate a grinding machine by installing an electric motor. Initially the movement was very unsatisfactory, it was not smooth, or very jerky. He then received an upgraded motor that included a “jerk control” feature and the movement of his machine became smooth.

It came as a surprise to me but it seems like jerk is something that can be felt in real life.

https://youtu.be/FPhNc6GwX1o?si=8cf7wU14puB8lsaa