Variable-mass system events. The following derivation is for a body that is gaining mass (accretion). A body of time-varying mass "m" moves at a velocity v at an initial time "t". In the same instant, a particle of mass dm moves with velocity u. The initial momentum can be written as Now at a time "t" + d"t", let both the main body and the particle accrete into a body of velocity v + dv. Thus the new momentum of the system can be written as Since d"m"dv is the product of two small values, it can be ignored, meaning during d"t"
Cross product formula_123 is its velocity and formula_124 is the body's angular velocity. Since position formula_110 and velocity formula_123 are "true" vectors, the angular velocity formula_124 is a "pseudovector" or "axial vector". The cross product is used to describe the Lorentz force experienced by a moving electric charge formula_128: Since velocity formula_123, force formula_118 and electric field formula_132 are all "true" vectors, the magnetic field formula_133 is a "pseudovector". In vector calculus, the cross product is used to define the formula for the vector operator curl. The trick of rewriting a cross product in terms of a matrix multiplication appears frequently in