Angular forms of acceleration, velocity and displacement

In summary, the speaker has been organizing their equations for angular acceleration, velocity, and displacement on their computer, but they have found that they have more equations for linear forms rather than angular. They are wondering if they can simply change the variables in the linear equations to their angular counterparts. It is confirmed that this is possible, as shown by the examples on the Physics Forums website.
  • #1
scotty_le_b
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I have been going through my equations and writing them up on the computer so I can refer to that when needed and have go to angular acceleration, velocity and displacement equations yet I don't have very many equations for those topics and I wondered if anyone had some equations for finding those values. I seemed to have more for acceleration, velocity and displacement in their linear forms, could I just changed the variables in those equations to their angular counterparts?
Thanks
 
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  • #2
hi scotty_le_b! :smile:
scotty_le_b said:
… I seemed to have more for acceleration, velocity and displacement in their linear forms, could I just changed the variables in those equations to their angular counterparts?

the popular ones, yes :smile:

for example, from the pf library on https://www.physicsforums.com/library.php?do=view_item&itemid=204" …​

In the direction of constant acceleration:

[tex]v\ =\ u\ +\ at[/tex]
[tex]v^2\ =\ u^2\ +\ 2as[/tex]
[tex]s\ =\ ut\ +\ \frac{1}{2}at^2[/tex]

Perpendicular to the direction of constant acceleration:

[tex]v\ =\ u[/tex]
[tex]s\ =\ ut[/tex]

For circular motion, with angular displacement [itex]\theta[/itex], angular velocity [itex]\omega[/itex], and angular acceleration [itex]\alpha[/itex]:

[tex]\omega_f\ =\ \omega_i\ +\ \alpha t[/tex]
[tex]\omega_f ^2\ =\ \omega_i^2\ +\ 2\alpha\theta[/tex]
[tex]\theta\ =\ \omega_it\ +\ \frac{1}{2}\alpha t^2[/tex]
 
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FAQ: Angular forms of acceleration, velocity and displacement

1. What is angular acceleration?

Angular acceleration is the rate of change of angular velocity. It measures how quickly the angular velocity of an object is changing over time. It is typically denoted by the symbol α and has units of radians per second squared (rad/s^2).

2. How is angular acceleration related to linear acceleration?

Angular acceleration and linear acceleration are related through the radius of rotation (r) and the linear velocity (v) of an object. The formula is a = α * r = v^2 / r, where a is linear acceleration, α is angular acceleration, and v is linear velocity.

3. What is the relationship between angular acceleration and angular velocity?

Angular acceleration and angular velocity are related by the equation ω = ω0 + αt, where ω is angular velocity, ω0 is the initial angular velocity, α is angular acceleration, and t is time. This equation shows that angular acceleration affects the change in angular velocity over time.

4. How do you calculate displacement from angular acceleration?

To calculate displacement from angular acceleration, you can use the formula θ = θ0 + ω0t + ½αt^2, where θ is displacement, θ0 is the initial displacement, ω0 is the initial angular velocity, α is angular acceleration, and t is time. This equation is similar to the equation for displacement in linear motion.

5. Can angular acceleration be negative?

Yes, angular acceleration can be negative. A negative angular acceleration indicates that the angular velocity is decreasing over time. This could be due to the object slowing down or changing direction of rotation. On the other hand, a positive angular acceleration indicates that the angular velocity is increasing over time.

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