aeglustumine

Aeglustumine is the Estonian noun for the process of slowing down, or deceleration. In physics and everyday use, it describes a decrease in an object's speed over time due to external forces that oppose motion. Deceleration is the negative value of acceleration.

Causes and mechanisms include friction between surfaces, air resistance (drag), viscous damping in fluids, and mechanical braking or magnetic braking. On an incline, gravitational force components opposing motion can also cause deceleration. In oscillatory systems, damping reduces velocity and the amplitude of motion over time, converting kinetic energy into heat or other forms of energy.

Mathematically, deceleration is described by a = dv/dt, the time derivative of velocity. If deceleration a is constant, velocity decreases linearly with time and the stopping distance from initial speed v0 is s = v0^2/(2a). In general, the net force F_net determines acceleration via a = F_net/m, where m is mass. For common resistance types, typical expressions include: constant kinetic friction a = -μ_k g on a horizontal surface; air drag a = -(C_d ρ A / 2m) v|v|; and viscous damping a = -(c/m) v, with respective parameters C_d, ρ, A, μ_k, g, and damping coefficient c.

Applications and contexts include vehicle braking and safety, design of damping in buildings and machinery, and sports science analyses of slowing down. Deceleration is a fundamental aspect of dynamics, describing how motion changes when forces oppose speed. The term aeglustumine thus covers slowing in mechanical, aerodynamic, and related contexts.