this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2025
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Science Memes

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submitted 3 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 45 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Not saying you’re wrong - you’re probably right. But as an engineer, I’ve referred to or been asked about “the center of mass” thousands of times and not once have I ever heard “virtual” used. It’s just always the center of mass - wherever that point exists in all of spacetime.

It’s weird. Did something change over the years (like using the Oxford comma or double spacing after a period?). Or is that something that’s always been a thing that I’ve never run across? Strange ;)

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 weeks ago

After doing a search online the only reference to a virtual center of mass is a StackExchange post that says it's from a high school textbook. Must be the same one I had. Seems to be not so common of a term!

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I think the proper term would be "mathematical", bit "virtual" gets the point across just as well in context

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

Spacetime?