Centripetal acceleration and tangential acceleration

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concepts of centripetal acceleration and tangential acceleration in circular motion. Participants explore the relationships between these types of acceleration and their dependence on angular velocity, particularly questioning why centripetal acceleration seems to depend solely on the final angular velocity.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant states that tangential acceleration is given by the formula aT = r*α, where α is defined as 1/2*(ωf-ω0), suggesting a dependence on both initial and final angular velocities.
  • Another participant corrects the first by asserting that α should be defined as (ωf-ω0)/(tf-t0), indicating that the previous expression represents average angular acceleration, applicable only under uniform acceleration.
  • A participant questions why centripetal acceleration is dependent only on the final angular velocity (ωf) and not on the initial angular velocity (ω0), seeking a physical explanation for this observation.
  • Another participant explains that centripetal acceleration is necessary to maintain circular motion, emphasizing that it acts to change the direction of the mass at any given point, which they argue relates solely to the current angular velocity (ω).

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the definitions and relationships of angular acceleration and its implications for tangential and centripetal acceleration. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the physical reasoning behind the dependence of centripetal acceleration on final angular velocity alone.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved assumptions regarding the conditions under which the equations for angular acceleration are applied, particularly concerning uniform versus non-uniform acceleration in circular motion.

Maxo
Messages
160
Reaction score
1
When having a circular acceleration motion, we have both tangential acceleration and centripetal acceleration.

The tangential acceleration is aT=r*α where α=1/2*(ωf0). So we can see tha aT is dependent on both the initial angular velocity ω0 and the final ωf).

For centripetal acceleration, we instead have aC=r*ωf2.

My question is, how come the centripetal acceleration is only dependent on the final angular velocity, and not the initial?
Is there a physical explanation for this?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
First: α isn't 1/2*(ωf0). The correct equation is α = (ωf0)/(tf-t0).

Second: The equation above is the expression for the AVERAGE angular acceleration. If the circular motion is UNIFORMLY accelerated than you can use the average angular acceleration to calculate the tangential speed since angular acceleration is constant, otherwise you have to use the instantaneous angular acceleration - say αf and the expression for tangetial acceleration becomes aTf = r αf
 
Ok thanks for the correction. But I still wonder why the centripetal acceleration is only dependent on the final angular velocity, and not the initial angular velocity. Is there a physical explanation for this?
 
centripetal acceleration is caused to continue circular motion so at every point. so at that point it has to accelerate the mass toward center so as to change it direction.
now for at the point it has angular velocity omega then centripetal acceleration will vary with that only
 

Similar threads

Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 47 ·
2
Replies
47
Views
5K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
1K
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
4K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
  • · Replies 37 ·
2
Replies
37
Views
5K
  • · Replies 16 ·
Replies
16
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
4K