Middelhastigheden

Middelhastigheden (the average speed) is a concept used in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish to describe the rate of motion averaged over a period of time or a distance. In physics and everyday use, middelhastigheden of an object is defined as the total distance traveled divided by the total time taken.

Calculation: v_mean = D/T. The value is expressed in units such as meters per second or kilometers per hour. Example: If a car travels 60 km in one hour and 40 km in the next hour, the total distance is 100 km and the total time is 2 hours, giving an average speed of 50 km/h. In general, when motion is divided into segments with different speeds, the overall middelhastigheden is determined by the ratio of total distance to total time, not by the arithmetic mean of segment speeds.

Difference from other speed concepts: Middelhastigheden contrasts with instantaneous speed (speed at a single moment) and with average velocity (displacement divided by time). It is a scalar quantity, whereas velocity is a vector. For non-uniform motion, the middelhastigheden is weighted by the time spent at each speed.

Applications and context: The concept is widely used in travel planning, transportation engineering, sports analysis, and physics problems. It helps compare performance over a journey and estimate travel times. When all segments are traveled at the same speed, middelhastigheden equals that constant speed.