Sideways Acceleration: What Is It?

  • Context: High School 
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    Acceleration
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of sideways acceleration, exploring its definitions and terminology in various contexts, particularly in physics and automotive engineering. Participants examine different types of acceleration that occur perpendicular to the direction of motion.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant identifies sideways acceleration as centripetal acceleration, which is defined as acceleration directed towards the center of a circular path.
  • Another participant suggests that angular acceleration might also be relevant to the discussion, though this is not universally agreed upon.
  • A different viewpoint introduces the terms lateral (cornering) acceleration and longitudinal acceleration, explaining their relevance in automotive contexts, particularly in relation to how cars experience acceleration in different directions.
  • The same participant notes that vertical acceleration is another component, referring to movements perpendicular to the ground, such as dips and rises in terrain.
  • There is mention of the inconsistency in terminology used across different fields, particularly in automotive engineering, where terms like fore-and-aft acceleration are used for longitudinal acceleration.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the terminology and definitions of sideways acceleration, indicating that there is no consensus on a single term or definition that encompasses all contexts.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights the potential for confusion due to varying definitions and terminologies used in different fields, such as physics and automotive engineering. There are also implications regarding the measurement and analysis of these acceleration components in practical applications.

Mt. Nixion
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What is it called when an object accelerates sideways?
 
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I assume you mean by this acceleration in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the velocity.

This is called centripetal acceleration. :smile:
 
Or perhaps angular acceleration?
 
For cars it's called lateral (cornering) acceration for the component of acceleration perpendicular and sideways to the direction traveled, and longitudinal acceleration for the component of acceleration in the direction traveled. Vertical acceleration is used for the accerlation perpendicular and upwards / downwards to the direction traveled, (dips, rises, suspension reactions). Most high end race cars and even some computer racing games include full telemetry that captures all of this data in real time, allowing a driver / car engineer / player to analyze the results afterwards. Even some club racers will use telemetry boxes, like this one that also includes a pretty shift indicator as in this souped up porcshe at Road America:

http://jeffareid.net/real/ra.wmv

Automotive Engineering (AE) uses the term fore-and-aft acceleration for the component of accerlation in the direction traveled. So this terminology isn't consistent.
 
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