This question stemmed from a conversation about measuring the speed of two very different objects. I realized that, unlike other measures that have their own units (length, mass, etc.), speed is measured using a ratio of distance and time. So I was wondering, does the size of the objects get factored into the measurement somehow? If speed is only ever measured using this distance/time approach (mph, for example), then wouldn’t the measure of speed become problematic since a large object is able to cover more distance than a small object?
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It’s about reference. Say you have a big wheel and a small wheel. If both wheels are travelling 100kmph, they’re going the same speed. However, the small wheel will be rotating much faster. So, if your frame of reference is rotations per minute, then the speed of the small wheel is much greater.
Same for your human racing a small dog point. That little dogs legs are moving much faster than the humans. So, you could say that the dog is moving its body faster than the human even though they’re both going 15kmph.
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