Relationship between radial and angular acceleration

Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the relationship between radial and angular acceleration, particularly in the context of circular motion. Participants explore the definitions and equations related to these types of acceleration, noting their distinct roles in motion.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Some participants express uncertainty about the relationship between radial and angular acceleration, questioning whether there is a direct algebraic connection. Others suggest that they may be looking for a geometric relationship, such as the perpendicular nature of the two accelerations.

Discussion Status

Participants have shared various insights, with some noting that angular acceleration is related to tangential acceleration rather than radial acceleration. There is a recognition of potential miscommunication in the original question, leading to further exploration of the topic.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention being novices in the subject, indicating a possible lack of familiarity with the concepts involved. There is also a discussion about the implications of changing forces on rotational motion, which introduces additional complexity to the topic.

Dv3k
Messages
2
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



State the Relatrionship between radial and angular acceleration.


Homework Equations



Well I presume the equations would be "radial acceleration = v(squared)/radius"

The Attempt at a Solution



I cannot find the equation for radial AND angular acceleration??

I know this may seem trivial but I'm a novice in this part of the course

thanks..
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Dv3k said:

Homework Statement



State the Relatrionship between radial and angular acceleration.


Homework Equations



Well I presume the equations would be "radial acceleration = v(squared)/radius"

The Attempt at a Solution



I cannot find the equation for radial AND angular acceleration??

I know this may seem trivial but I'm a novice in this part of the course

thanks..

there is no relation that I can see. The angular acceleration alpha is related to the *tangential* acceleration a_T by
[tex]\alpha = \frac{a_T}{R}[/tex]. But this does not involve the radial acceleration (which is related to the derivative of the speed). If you move at constant speed in a circle, for example, a_T and alpha are zero but a_r is not zero.
 
nrqed said:
there is no relation that I can see.

Could they just be looking for something like 'they are perpendicular to one another'? As you say, there certainly isn't an automatic algebraic relation to one another.
 
nrqed said:
there is no relation that I can see. The angular acceleration alpha is related to the *tangential* acceleration a_T by
[tex]\alpha = \frac{a_T}{R}[/tex]. But this does not involve the radial acceleration (which is related to the derivative of the speed). If you move at constant speed in a circle, for example, a_T and alpha are zero but a_r is not zero.

hi thanks for all your help

turns out that they were looking for a_T=r * "alpha"

maybe there was a misprint?

Thanks for all your help neway.

:)
 
Dv3k said:
hi thanks for all your help

turns out that they were looking for a_T=r * "alpha"

maybe there was a misprint?

Thanks for all your help neway.

:)

And that's exactly the relation I posted :-)

Yes, there must have been a misprint in the question. They meant to ask : what is the relationship between the angular acceleration and the tangential acceleration !

You are welcome
 
What I want to know is, for example, if you have a ball in a string and let it rotate in a circle, what happens with the spin rate if you pull the string? Will it spin faster? I mean, f=m*v*v/r. If you increase f, will v increase too? (A side effect is that the center of rotation will move). In other words, how do you combine rotation with linear acceleration like this? If you hold the string in your hand, it is obvious that you can make it spin faster by moving the hand up and down. But what are the equations?
 
According to my knowledge.
{
Radial acceleration (a_r) (or centripetal) is the acceleration that points to center of circular motion and causes it to turn. Then Tangential acceleration (a_t) in tangent to the circle and causes the particle to change speed.

a_r and a_t are components of an overall acceleration a, which, according to definition, is the change rate of velocity with time.
If a_t = 0, then a = a_r and the motion is circular uniform; if a_r = 0, then a = a_t and the motion is linear (no curvature).
If neither a_t nor a_r is zero, the motion will follow a generic curved trajectory.

Angular acceleration is the rate of change of angular velocity w with time. Its symbol is usually alpha (don't confound it with the angular displacement), and its unit is rad/s².
Since w = V/r, then alpha = a_t / r.
}
zahidbashirsoomro@yahoo.com
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

Replies
3
Views
3K
  • · Replies 71 ·
3
Replies
71
Views
5K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
5K
Replies
3
Views
3K
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 24 ·
Replies
24
Views
4K
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 19 ·
Replies
19
Views
3K
Replies
0
Views
2K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
2K