Not only are they valid, but they are both the same thing: normal = radial, and tangential = transverse.gianeshwar said:
Chestermiller said:
I guess I learned something new. I've never heard of transverse used for polar coordinates. I would have called it circumferential. Go figure.voko said:
Radial acceleration is the acceleration that occurs when an object moves in a circular path. It is directed towards the center of the circle, and its magnitude is given by the formula a = v²/r, where v is the speed of the object and r is the radius of the circle.
Transverse acceleration is the acceleration that occurs when an object changes its direction. It is perpendicular to the velocity of the object and its magnitude is given by the formula a = v²/r, where v is the speed of the object and r is the radius of the curve the object is following.
Radial acceleration can change the direction of an object's velocity, but not its magnitude. This means that the object's speed will remain constant, but its velocity vector will continuously point towards the center of the circle it is moving in.
Tangential acceleration is the acceleration that occurs in the direction of the object's motion. In circular motion, it is always perpendicular to the radial acceleration. The two accelerations together create a net acceleration that determines the overall direction and magnitude of the object's motion.
In non-circular motion, radial and transverse acceleration may still exist, but they are not constant. The direction and magnitude of these accelerations can change depending on the object's path. In this case, the net acceleration is the vector sum of the radial and tangential accelerations at any given point.