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"
Mass flow rate ejecting spent fuel. Often, descriptions of such objects erroneously invoke Newton's second law F =d("m"v)/d"t" by treating both the mass "m" and the velocity v as time-dependent and then applying the derivative product rule. A correct description of such an object requires the application of Newton's second law to the entire, constant-mass system consisting of both the object and its ejected mass. In hydrodynamics, mass flow rate is the rate of flow of mass. In electricity, the rate of flow of charge is electric current. Mass flow rate In physics and engineering, mass flow rate is the mass of a