Calculating the Angle of a Perfect Circle: A Simple Formula

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The discussion revolves around calculating the angle and forces involved in circular motion, specifically for a circle with a radius of 5 meters. Participants clarify that the "angle of the circle" may refer to angular displacement and the relationship between speed and acceleration. They discuss how to achieve a specific g-force while traveling in a circle, emphasizing that acceleration is influenced by both linear and centripetal components. The conversation highlights the use of the Pythagorean theorem to combine these accelerations for total acceleration. Overall, the thread provides insights into the physics of circular motion and the calculations involved.
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Hi,
Just a quick question
I have a circle with radius of 5 metres, what is the angle of the circle?
or is there a simple formula to work this out.

Thanx
 
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golith said:
Hi,
Just a quick question
I have a circle with radius of 5 metres, what is the angle of the circle?
or is there a simple formula to work this out.

Thanx
What is meant by "angle of the circle"?
 
the angle of the circle would be the constant angle (? angular velocity?) you would be on as you went around the horizontal ride. If its radius is 5 metres and is traveling at 1 m/s with a mass of 100kg in a circle, i believe i will need to know its angle to find out the force applied at any given time in its coarse.
Did this clear it up a bit? :)
thanx
 
golith said:
the angle of the circle would be the constant angle (? angular velocity?) you would be on as you went around the horizontal ride. If its radius is 5 metres and is traveling at 1 m/s with a mass of 100kg in a circle, i believe i will need to know its angle to find out the force applied at any given time in its coarse.
Did this clear it up a bit? :)
thanx
What do you mean by "the constant angle you would be on"? If you are traveling at 1m/s around a circle and the radius is 5 meters, then your angular displacement depends on how much time has passed.
 
Hay there, just re-reading some other information and have another question?
If your traveling in a straight line and your velocity is 1 m/s and you want to achieve a g-force of 5G would you therefore have to accelerate at (9.8m/s*5) or 48 m/s to affect 5 g's Thanx
 
LeonhardEuler said:
What do you mean by "the constant angle you would be on"? If you are traveling at 1m/s around a circle and the radius is 5 meters, then your angular displacement depends on how much time has passed.
Yes this would be the vectoring I am at now, but would time now be in reference to your velocity ?
 
golith said:
Hay there, just re-reading some other information and have another question?
If your traveling in a straight line and your velocity is 1 m/s and you want to achieve a g-force of 5G would you therefore have to accelerate at (9.8m/s*5) or 48 m/s to affect 5 g's Thanx
Yes, that would do it. (except its 9.8m/s^2*5=49m/s^2)
Yes this would be the vectoring I am at now, but would time now be in reference to your velocity ?
Time would simply be the amount of time that has passed since you started moving.
 
Now that's very good but what if that straight line is now a circle as perfectly round as humanly possible. would this still apply or has angular displacement now componded the g force and therefore not have to accelerate at 49 m/s^2 but less ?

Thanx
 
http://www.sixflags.com/parks/overgeorgia/pdf/HighSchoolWorkbook.PDF

looking at this to inspire me and in particular the horizontal accelerometer.
 
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  • #10
golith said:
Now that's very good but what if that straight line is now a circle as perfectly round as humanly possible. would this still apply or has angular displacement now componded the g force and therefore not have to accelerate at 49 m/s^2 but less ?

Thanx
If a particle is changing direction, it is accelerating even if it is not speeding up or slowing down. If the radius of the circle is r and the particle's speed is v, then it's acceleration without changing speed is equal to \frac{v^2}{r}. So, just by moving quickly enough in a small enough circle, you could have an acceleration of 5 g. For example, moving at 16 m/s in a circle of radius 5 gives an acceleration of a6^2/5=51.2m/s^2, which is about 5.2 g. If the particle also speeds up while moving in a circle, its acceleration will be the vector sum of the linear acceleration and the centripital acceleration.
 
  • #11
Ah ha, Have U been told you are a legend :)
This has helped no end.
The last part of my query then is the last part being the vector sum of the linear acceleration and the centipital acceleration.
Could I express this by stating a(centripital) is V(2/t)/R
Linear acceleration as Vf-Vi/t = * m/s/s
If so then how do you do the vector sum of these two quantities? :)
That would be it and the computer would be able to do the rest to apply what's required upn the object at any given time.
This would then negate having to travel at high speeds to fool the particle into thinking it is traveling faster than it is, just deacceleration is the bugga now then in how to affect a rapid deacceleration when your not actually traveling that fast. Anyhow i will get there.
I added you to my buddy list and hope to be able to employ your good talent in the future. I'm also trying my hand at thermodynamics and quantum physics in general to be able to grasp concepts required in the future.
Hope to talk to you again.

Sorry for the waffle
Long live Formula one
 
  • #12
The linear and centripital accelerations are perpendicular vectors, so they can be added by the pythagorean theorem. If a_c is the centripital acceleration and a_l is the linear acceleration, then the total acceleration is:
\sqrt{a_c^2 + a_l^2}
 
  • #13
Yet again another so simple answer in this world of complexities.
I tip my hat to you sir.
 
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