In general physics, delta-v is a change in velocity. The Greek uppercase letter Δ (delta) is the standard mathematical symbol to represent change in some quantity.

Depending on the situation, delta-v can be either a spatial vectorv) or a scalarv). In either case it is equal to the acceleration (vector or scalar) integrated over time:

  • Vector version:
  • Scalar version:

If acceleration is constant, the change in velocity can thus be expressed as: where:

  • v0 or v0 is initial velocity (at time t0),
  • v1 or v1 is subsequent velocity (at time t1).

Change in velocity is useful in many cases, such as determining the change in momentum (impulse), where: , where is momentum and m is mass.


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