Centripetal acceleration of Earth around Sun?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around calculating centripetal acceleration, specifically regarding Earth's motion around the Sun and roller coaster dynamics. A user is struggling with the calculation of velocity using the formula for circular motion, mistakenly assuming a one-day revolution period. Another participant highlights the error in this assumption and clarifies that centripetal acceleration must exceed gravitational acceleration for objects like roller coaster passengers to remain in contact with their seats. The conversation emphasizes the importance of understanding the forces involved in circular motion and the conditions for maintaining contact in such scenarios. Overall, the thread addresses common misconceptions in physics calculations related to centripetal force and acceleration.
psycovic23
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New question: centripetal force?

I can't seem to get the right answer...

R = 1.50 x 10^11

and I figure that 1 day/rev = 86400 sec/rev

So: \frac {2 \pi 1.50 * 10^{11}}{86400} is the velocity, and then plug that into \frac {v^2}{r} but I keep on getting 700 something..what am I doing wrong?



Question 2: At what minimum speed must a roller coaster be traveling when upside down at the top of a circle if the passengers are not to fall out? R = 8.6m

What I think you have to do is
mg + F_c = m * \frac {v^2}{R}

but I don't know what F would be...or am I approaching this the wrong way?
 
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psycovic23 said:
I can't seem to get the right answer...
R = 1.50 x 10^11
and I figure that 1 day/rev = 86400 sec/rev
So: \frac {2 \pi 1.50 * 10^{11}}{86400} is the velocity, and then plug that into \frac {v^2}{r} but I keep on getting 700 something..what am I doing wrong?

Whoever told you that the Earth circles (on an ellipse :-p ) the Sun in one day (86400s) is a WACKO!

Daniel.

PS.I hope u see the error. :-p
 
Wow. I'm dumb :-p
 
*Bump for new question*
 
Hmm - Newton's second law(the mass cancels)... so, the centripetal acceleration has to be bigger than the gravitational acceleration.

<br /> \frac{v^2}{r} &gt; -g<br />
 
psycovic23 said:
Question 2: At what minimum speed must a roller coaster be traveling when upside down at the top of a circle if the passengers are not to fall out? R = 8.6m

What I think you have to do is
mg + F_c = m * \frac {v^2}{R}

but I don't know what F would be...or am I approaching this the wrong way?
So far, so good. What you call F_c is the force exerted by the coaster on the passenger. The minimum speed of the coaster is that which will make F_c = 0. When that force goes to zero, it means that the passengers are beginning to lose contact with the seat.
 
Ah, thank you very much!
 
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