Sideways Acceleration: What Is It?

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Sideways acceleration, or acceleration perpendicular to the direction of velocity, is primarily referred to as centripetal acceleration in physics. In automotive contexts, it is known as lateral or cornering acceleration, while acceleration in the direction of travel is termed longitudinal acceleration. Vertical acceleration describes movement perpendicular to the ground, such as during dips or rises. High-end race cars and computer racing games often utilize telemetry to capture and analyze these acceleration components in real time. The terminology for these accelerations can vary, particularly in automotive engineering, leading to some inconsistencies.
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What is it called when an object accelerates sideways?
 
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I assume you mean by this acceleration in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the velocity.

This is called centripetal acceleration. :smile:
 
Or perhaps angular acceleration?
 
For cars it's called lateral (cornering) acceration for the component of acceleration perpendicular and sideways to the direction traveled, and longitudinal acceleration for the component of acceleration in the direction traveled. Vertical acceleration is used for the accerlation perpendicular and upwards / downwards to the direction traveled, (dips, rises, suspension reactions). Most high end race cars and even some computer racing games include full telemetry that captures all of this data in real time, allowing a driver / car engineer / player to analyze the results afterwards. Even some club racers will use telemetry boxes, like this one that also includes a pretty shift indicator as in this souped up porcshe at Road America:

http://jeffareid.net/real/ra.wmv

Automotive Engineering (AE) uses the term fore-and-aft acceleration for the component of accerlation in the direction traveled. So this terminology isn't consistent.
 
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