Proper velocity Proper velocity In relativity, proper velocity, also known as celerity, is an alternative to velocity for measuring motion. Whereas velocity relative to an observer is distance per unit time where both distance and time are measured by the observer, proper velocity relative to an observer divides observer-measured distance by the time elapsed on the clocks of the traveling object. Proper velocity equals velocity at low speeds. Proper velocity at high speeds, moreover, retains many of the properties that velocity loses in relativity compared with Newtonian theory. For example, proper velocity equals momentum per unit mass at any speed, and therefore
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