Acceleration of a curved trajectory

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on the concepts of tangent acceleration and the relationship between speed and angular change in curved trajectories, as outlined in Feynman's Lectures on Physics. There is confusion regarding the difference between change in speed and change in tangent velocity, with a suggestion that certain differences may be neglected for simplification. The conversation also questions which velocity should be used when calculating acceleration at right angles to the curve, specifically whether to use initial or final velocity. The principle of neglecting terms that diminish faster than the relevant effects is highlighted, particularly as time steps approach zero. Overall, the discussion emphasizes the complexities of understanding acceleration in curved motion.
Fyreth
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Feynman_Lectures_on_Physics_Volume_1_Chapter_11

In paragraph 11-6 he says that the tangent acceleration is the change of speed v but if I look at fig. 11-8 the change in speed is slightly smaller than the change in tangent velocity. (I drew a circle with the radius of the speed of v_I that has it's middle in the origin of the vectors mentally.) I assume he just neglects that difference but I don't really understand the idea of neglecting certain things. What things can you neglect and what not?
He also says that the acceleration at right angles to the curve is the magnitude of the velocity times the change in angle. The magnitude of which velocity? v_I or v_II? How can you just multiply speed with an angle? I know you can if you use sine, cosine or something like that but multiply it with an angle directly?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
You can neglect things which go to 0 quicker than your relevant effect, if the time-step goes to 0. In other words, everything where effectsize/timestep goes to 0 as timestep goes to 0.

In general, your post looks confusing to me, therefore the very general answer.
 
Thread 'Is 'Velocity of Transport' a Recognized Term in English Mechanics Literature?'
Here are two fragments from Banach's monograph in Mechanics I have never seen the term <<velocity of transport>> in English texts. Actually I have never seen this term being named somehow in English. This term has a name in Russian books. I looked through the original Banach's text in Polish and there is a Polish name for this term. It is a little bit surprising that the Polish name differs from the Russian one and also differs from this English translation. My question is: Is there...
This has been discussed many times on PF, and will likely come up again, so the video might come handy. Previous threads: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/is-a-treadmill-incline-just-a-marketing-gimmick.937725/ https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/work-done-running-on-an-inclined-treadmill.927825/ https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/how-do-we-calculate-the-energy-we-used-to-do-something.1052162/
Hi there, im studying nanoscience at the university in Basel. Today I looked at the topic of intertial and non-inertial reference frames and the existence of fictitious forces. I understand that you call forces real in physics if they appear in interplay. Meaning that a force is real when there is the "actio" partner to the "reactio" partner. If this condition is not satisfied the force is not real. I also understand that if you specifically look at non-inertial reference frames you can...
Back
Top