How Is the Centripetal Acceleration Formula Derived?

Thread starter amcavoy
Start date Sep 26, 2005
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Acceleration

AI Thread Summary

The centripetal acceleration formula, a_c = v_t^2 / r, describes the acceleration of an object moving in a circular path. It is derived from the relationship between linear velocity (v_t) and the radius (r) of the circular motion. The formula indicates that centripetal acceleration increases with the square of the tangential velocity and inversely with the radius. Resources such as HyperPhysics and KnowledgeRush provide further explanations and derivations of this concept. Understanding this formula is essential for analyzing circular motion in physics.

Sep 26, 2005

amcavoy

Could someone tell me how this equation was derived or where it came from:

a_c=\frac{{v_t}^2}{r}

This isn't a homework question, but it seemed better to put it in this section (I apologize if it's in the wrong section).

Last edited: Sep 26, 2005

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Sep 26, 2005

FredGarvin

Science Advisor

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/cf.html

Look down at the bottom for a quick and dirty explanation. Or...

http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Centripetal

Last edited by a moderator: Apr 21, 2017

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