Dick said:If it's initially moving in a circular path the transverse and the tangential direction are the same.
theBEAST said:Oh I see... I am just confused because looking at the path, it does not look circular. Let's say the question did not tell us that the car moves on a "horizontal circular path", instead it just says the car is moving on a "path as shown on the diagram". Then can you assume by looking at this picture it is circular? Could we still do the question?
Radial refers to a direction or measurement that is along or from the center of a circle or sphere, while transverse refers to a direction or measurement that is perpendicular to the radius or center.
Normal is a term used to describe a direction that is perpendicular to a surface or object, while tangential refers to a direction that is parallel to the surface or object. In the context of radial and transverse, normal would be equivalent to radial and tangential would be equivalent to transverse.
Imagine you are standing at the center of a ferris wheel. The radial direction would be the distance from the center to the edge of the wheel, while the transverse direction would be the distance from one side of the wheel to the other.
In physics, radial and transverse directions are commonly used in describing circular or rotational motion. For example, the acceleration of an object moving in a circular path would have a radial component towards the center and a transverse component tangent to the circle.
No, while they may have similar meanings in some contexts, they are distinct terms with specific definitions. Radial and transverse are used to describe directions, while normal and tangential are used to describe forces or components of forces in a specific direction.