One of the special options of the equipment my company sells is a signal evaluation software for stop-and-go motion/movement. It is used to test metal bars that stop and then start moving again in rapid succession. Would you use the term "stop-and-go motion" or "stop-and-go movement"?
Here are the definitions from the AHD:
move·ment n.
1. a. The act or an instance of moving; a change in place or position. b.
A particular manner of moving.
2. A change in the location of troops, ships, or aircraft for tactical or
strategic purposes.
3. a. A series of actions and events taking place over a period of time
and working to foster a principle or policy: a movement toward world
peace. b. An organized effort by supporters of a common goal: a leader of
the labor movement.
4. A tendency or trend: a movement toward larger kitchens.
5. A change in the market price of a security or commodity.
6. a. An evacuation of the bowels. b. The matter so evacuated.
7. The suggestion or illusion of motion in a painting, sculpture, or design.
8. The progression of events in the development of a literary plot.
9. The rhythmical or metrical structure of a poetic composition.
10. Music A self-contained section of an extended composition.
11. A mechanism, such as the works of a watch, that produces or transmits
motion.
mo·tion n.
1. The act or process of changing position or place.
2. A meaningful or expressive change in the position of the body or a part
of the body; a gesture.
3. Active operation: set the plan in motion.
4. The ability or power to move: lost motion in his arm.
5. The manner in which the body moves, as in walking.
6. A prompting from within; an impulse or inclination: resigned of her own
motion.
7. Music Melodic ascent and descent of pitch.
8. Law An application made to a court for an order or a ruling.
9. A formal proposal put to the vote under parliamentary procedures.
10. a. A mechanical device or piece of machinery that moves or causes
motion; a mechanism. b. The movement or action of such a device.
I’m leaning towards ‘movement’. I’m not very fond of stop-and-go, though. Perhaps you could coin a new term (yeah!) like "rapidly intermittent movement (RIM)" or something? I bet the engineers would just love another acronym.
Ilka, I’m afraid I really don’t understand what you are trying to describe.
I have a feeling that the fact that they are bars has little to do with what you are trying to describe, but that is what my mind is stuck on because that’s all you’ve given away.
To run with PW’s idea, if the bars are shaped like I’s, you could call it rapid I movement...
RIM!! I bet the engineers would love that, but if we listened to them… Stop-and-go is good because a Japanese or Turkish non-native speaker is going to get the idea.
Our equipment tests the quality of metal products such as tubes and rods. In one specific application, the rod moves in jerks as it enters a cold former. In the cold former, it is cut into segments and each segment is, in several stages, pressed into a fastener such as a screw. Our equipment tests the rod before it enters the cold former. That means it has to deal with the rod’s stop-and-go motion/movement. It requires a special software to do so.
This software is a special option that appears on our offers and in the product catalog. We have called it "Signal Evaluation Software for Stop-and-Go Motion/Movement". We had "movement" in there, but it didn’t seem right.
Never mind the first part which is horrible but we have several different kinds of signal evaluation software. The electronic signals that the equipment generates are evaluated to determine the size and type of defect on the rod. Of course if you’d like to come up with a different name for it, feel free. :-/
How’s this? "Motion" is more conceptual while "movement" is a single action. Thus, "movement" is used to signify a single gesture or the act of moving something from point a to point b. "Motion" is a more general concept.
Here are a few phrases in support of this, but there is a broad area of overlap. I don’t know how a non-native speaker is to learn the difference.
A perpetual motion machine
A motion picture
To be in motion
Rotary motion
The continuous motion of the piston.
I see a movement in the bushes
Each movement of the piston from top to bottom is called a stroke.
Be still. I don’t want to see a single movement from you.
Sadly, Sitran’s "to motion someone over" doesn’t fit in this scheme.
I think you’re right. In this case, it won’t make much of a difference. But in some cases the two words are not interchangeable, and I find it interesting that we as native speakers cannot put our finger on when to use which.
I find it interesting that we as native speakers cannot put our finger on when to use which.
Yes, we can! We just do it! If we think about it we get confused. We are so clever that we out-guess ourselves, and the unfamiliar becomes reasonable and the familiar sounds like a guest.
It seems we cannot be the observer and the observed at the same time.
