momentum

mo·men·tum   (mō-měn'təm)    n.   pl. mo·men·ta (-tə) or mo·men·tums Symbol p Physics A measure of the motion of a body equal to the product of its mass and velocity. Also called linear momentum. Impetus of a physical object in motion. Impetus of a nonphysical process, such as an idea or a course of events: The soaring rise in interest rates finally appeared to be losing momentum. Philosophy An essential or constituent element; a moment. [Latin mōmentum, movement, from *movimentum, from movēre, to move; see meuə- in Indo-European roots.]

Momentum

Mo*men"tum\, n.; pl. L. Momenta, F. Momentums. [L. See Moment.]

1. (Mech.) The quantity of motion in a moving body, being always proportioned to the quantity of matter multiplied into the velocity; impetus.

2. Essential element, or constituent element.

I shall state the several momenta of the distinction in separate propositions. --Sir W. Hamilton.

momentum

In physics, the property or tendency of a moving object to continue moving. For an object moving in a line, the momentum is the mass of the object multiplied by its velocity (linear momentum); thus, a slowly moving, very massive body and a rapidly moving, light body can have the same momentum. (See Newton's laws of motion.)

Note: Figuratively, momentum can refer to the tendency of a person or group to repeat recent success: “The Bears definitely have momentum after scoring those last two touchdowns.”

momentum 

Momentum

The rate of acceleration of a security's price or volume.

Investopedia Commentary

Once a momentum trader sees an acceleration in a stock's price, earnings, or revenues, the trader will often take a long or short position in the stock with the hope that its momentum will continue in either an upwards or downwards direction. This strategy relies more on short-term movements in price rather then fundamental particulars of companies, and is not recommended for novices.

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See also: Contrarian, Countertrend Strategy, Momentum Fund, Style

momentum

The tendency of a security to continue movement in a single direction. Momentum is the underlying factor in trend analysis of stock prices.

Main Entry: mo·men·tum
Pronunciation: mO-'ment-&m, m&-'ment-
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural mo·men·ta /-'ment-&/ or momentums
: a property of a moving body that the body has by virtue of its mass and motion and that is equal to the product of the body's massand velocity; broadly : a property of a moving body that determines the length of time required to bring it to rest when under the action of a constant force

momentum   (mō-měn'təm)  Pronunciation Key  Plural momenta or momentums A vector quantity that expresses the relation of the velocity of a body, wave, field, or other physical system, to its energy. The direction of the momentum of a single object indicates the direction of its motion. Momentum is a conserved quantity (it remains constant unless acted upon by an outside force), and is related by Noether's theorem to translational invariance. In classical mechanics, momentum is defined as mass times velocity. The theory of Special Relativity uses the concept of relativistic mass. The momentum of photons, which are massless, is equal to their energy divided by the speed of light. In quantum mechanics, momentum more generally refers to a mathematical operator applied to the wave equation describing a physical system and corresponding to an observable; solutions to the equation using this operator provide the vector quantity traditionally called momentum. In all of these applications, momentum is sometimes called linear momentum. See also angular momentum, impulse.

momentum

product of the mass of a particle and its velocity. Momentum is a vector quantity; i.e., it has both magnitude and direction. Isaac Newton's second law of motion states that the time rate of change of momentum is equal to the force acting on the particle. See Newton's laws of motion.

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