Motion facts for kids

Motion is all about movement! It's when something changes its position or place. Think about a car driving, a ball rolling, or even you walking – that's all motion!

Motion is a super important idea in science, especially in physics, which is the study of how things work in the universe.

Motion in Science

In science, motion means any physical movement or change in where something is. It's how we describe everything from tiny atoms wiggling to giant planets orbiting the sun.

Different Kinds of Motion

• Brownian motion: Imagine tiny dust particles floating in the air. They seem to jiggle randomly. That's Brownian motion! It's the random movement of particles in a fluid (like air or water) caused by them bumping into even smaller, invisible atoms and molecules.
• Circular motion: This is when something moves in a perfect circle. A spinning top, a Ferris wheel, or a satellite going around Earth are all examples of circular motion.
• Equation of motion: Scientists use special math rules called equations of motion to describe exactly how things move. These equations can predict where something will be or how fast it will go.
• Perpetual motion: This is a cool idea, but it's impossible! A perpetual motion machine would be a machine that keeps moving forever without any extra energy. Scientists have proven this can't happen because of things like friction and air resistance.
• Motion perception: This is how our brains understand that things are moving around us. It's why we can see a car driving by or a bird flying.
• Motion sickness: Have you ever felt queasy on a boat, in a car, or on a roller coaster? That's motion sickness! It happens when your brain gets confused by conflicting signals from your eyes and your inner ear about movement.

Earth and Space Motion

• Glacial motion: Glaciers are huge rivers of ice. They move very, very slowly down mountains or across land, carving out valleys as they go. This slow movement is glacial motion.
• Polar motion: The Earth spins like a top, but its North and South Poles aren't perfectly still. They wobble and shift slightly over time. This tiny wobble is called polar motion.

Astronomy and Stars

• Diurnal motion: "Diurnal" means daily. Diurnal motion is the apparent daily movement of the sun, moon, and stars across the sky because the Earth is spinning. It looks like they're moving, but it's really us!
• Proper motion: While stars seem fixed in the night sky, they are actually moving through space. Proper motion is the real, tiny movement of a star across the sky as seen from Earth, after we account for Earth's own movement.

Motion in Law and Politics

The word "motion" is also used in other areas, like law and how groups make decisions.

• Motion (legal): In a courtroom, a "motion" is a formal request that a lawyer makes to a judge. For example, a lawyer might make a motion to ask the judge to allow certain evidence.
• Motion (democracy): In a meeting of a group, like a school club or a government assembly, a "motion" is a formal idea or proposal that someone suggests for the group to discuss and vote on. It's how new rules or actions get started.

Motion in Technology

Technology uses motion in many cool ways, from making movies to controlling robots.

• Motion control: This is about precisely controlling the movement of machines or parts of machines. Think of robots in a factory or a camera moving smoothly for a video.
• Motion detection: This technology senses when something moves. Motion detectors are used in security systems to turn on lights or sound alarms when someone walks by.
• Motion graphic: These are animated designs or videos that combine text, images, and sound to tell a story or explain something. You see them a lot in TV commercials, movie titles, or online videos.
  • Apple Motion: This is a special computer program made by Apple that helps people create amazing motion graphics.
• Motion planning: In robotics, motion planning is when a robot figures out the best way to move from one place to another without bumping into things. It's like the robot planning its route.
• Motion simulator: These machines make you feel like you're moving, even when you're not! They're used for training pilots, in amusement park rides, or for virtual reality experiences.
• Valve gear: This is a part of a steam locomotive (an old type of train). It helps control how steam moves through the engine to make the train go.

Motion in Movies and Video

• Full motion video: This is video that plays smoothly, like a regular movie, instead of looking choppy or like a slideshow.
• Motion blur: When something moves very fast in a photo or video, it can look a little blurry or streaky. That's motion blur, and sometimes filmmakers use it on purpose to show speed.
• Motion capture: This is a cool technique used to make animated characters move realistically. Actors wear special suits with sensors, and their movements are recorded and then used to animate a cartoon character or a creature in a movie.
• Motion picture: This is just another name for a movie! It's called a "motion picture" because it's a series of still pictures shown quickly to create the illusion of movement.
• Stop motion: This is a type of animation where you take a picture of something, move it a tiny bit, take another picture, and so on. When you play all the pictures fast, it looks like the object is moving on its own! Think of movies with clay characters.
• Slow motion: This is when a video is played back much slower than it was recorded, making fast actions look stretched out and dramatic.

People

• Andrew Motion: He is a famous British poet. He was even the "Poet Laureate" of the United Kingdom for a while, which means he was the official poet for the country.

Images for kids

• 

  A motorcyclist doing a wheelie- representing motion

See also

In Spanish: Movimiento (física) para niños