Kinetics vs. Kinematics

Main Difference

Science is a vast field and there are many instances where people get confused about two terms which seem similar to each other but in reality are very different. There are many divisions in science because of the range it has, and this has been divided into several branches so that it gets easier for people to learn about it and get accustomed to a particular topic without having to worry about other related terms. Because of this division, there are several terms which were named because of a common action but were different in other aspects so they were put in other branches of science. You will get multiple examples of such terms and two of these, which will be discussed in this article are Kinetics and Kinematics. On first look, they seem familiar with each other but that is not the reality. The first difference that can be told about them is that kinetics is that it has applications in different subjects such as biology, chemistry and physics and therefore is used accordingly. In terms of biochemistry, it is defined as the branch which deals with the rates of reactions and measures that rate. In terms of physics, it is the study of forces that are acting on an object under a particular mechanism. And in pure chemistry terms, it is known as the rate of a chemical reaction. Kinematics, on the other hand, is related to physics and mechanics. This is known as the branch which deals with the movement of bodies which do not depend on other forces and their components which result in the motion. In simple words, it can be said that kinematics is the study of properties of a body’s movement. This leads to another difference is we add the fact that in kinetics the action of forces acting is considered. Both have their applications, with kinetics having applications in the mechanical and automotive industry while kinematics has its applications in astronomic bodies such as movement of a star or spaceship and other chemical reactions. In terms of solving them, it must be said that Kinetics is simpler in a way that there are basic terms used to find a particular value while kinematics has a lot of equations and formulas involved and can take a lot of care and time to come up with a specific solution. There are other ways of showing the difference as well but a brief explanation of both these types will be given in the next two paragraphs while differences, in a nutshell, will be given at the end of this article to clarify how they differ.

Difference Between Kinetics and Kinematics

Comparison Chart

Definition of Kinematics

It is the branch of physics in simple terms but in engineering ways it is known as the branch of mechanics which takes into account the motion of an object. It is a field which deals with the movement of bodies which do not depend on other forces and their components which result in the motion. In simple words, it can be said that kinematics is the study of properties of a body’s movement. There are a proper set of equations which exists to solve the problems and the solutions which arise and they are considered pretty complicated since there are many factors involved in the motion of an object, even though the forces are not being taken into account. It deals with the initial velocities, position, acceleration and speed at a particular point and all these factors require proper formulas. It is derived from a Greek word cinematique which is defined as motion and that forms the basis of this subject. It is the process in which analysis is done on an object and then equations are applied on an object to obtain the quantities which are needed. It has applications in other fields such as automobile industry.

Definition of Kinetics

This is a very vast field which has its applications in several subjects such as biology, chemistry, and physics and therefore is used accordingly. In terms of biochemistry, it is defined as the branch which deals with the rates of reactions and measures that rate. In terms of physics, it is the study of forces that are acting on an object under a particular mechanism. And in pure chemistry terms, it is known as the rate of a chemical reaction. Sticking to its definition in terms of physics it is also a branch of mechanics which deals with the relationship of bodies in a way that why they are causing motion and what is the cause of that motion. This involve the study of forces and torques which make it an interesting field. Though it is an advancement on kinematics still the equations required to solve for the values are simpler and lead to an answer in a short time. This term is now usually known as dynamics but in some cases is still written as Kinetics in books though dynamics is the true name which helps in defining this term in modern times.

Conclusion

Kinetics and Kinematics are the two most common used terms in Physics which have been forming the basis of the subject. They are different from each other, actually opposite and therefore it becomes that much more important for people to have a better understanding of how to use them, hopefully this article will go a long way in completing that task.