Tangental acceleration from given centripetal acceleration and a range of radii

AI Thread Summary
To determine the tangential acceleration needed for a specific centripetal acceleration across various radii, the key equation is Vt^2 = r * a_c, where Vt is tangential speed, r is the radius, and a_c is the centripetal acceleration. For a centripetal acceleration of 9.81 m/s², different radii from 5 km to 100 km yield specific tangential speeds. The discussion highlights that tangential acceleration is not necessary for calculating centripetal acceleration; rather, a constant tangential speed suffices. An example illustrates that an asteroid with a 137 km circumference would require a tangential speed of 59.4 km/h to achieve the desired acceleration, suggesting potential for artificial gravity.
sneurlax
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Hi, how can I determine the tangental acceleration of a circle needed to produce a given centripetal acceleration from a range of radii? For example, I would like to produce 9.81 m/s/s centripetal acceleration with a range of radii from 5km to 100km? All I really need is to figure out the equation and I can write a program to graphically display the results.

Here's what I've found so far:

ac = vt2/r
centripetal acceleration = (tangental acceleration)2 / radius of circular path

Fc = mvt2/r
centripetal force = mass x ((tangental speed)2 / radius of circular path)

If centripetal force is different than centripetal acceleration and a weight is needing to determine the Newtons involved then assume that the object being acted upon weighs 80 Earth kg.

Thanks for any help! If you could just nudge me in the right direction I'd appreciate it very much.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
You don't need a tangential acceleration to produce a given centripetal acceleration, all you need is a given tangential speed. This can be calculated from the first formula you gave.

Vt^2=r*a_c
where r are the different radii and a_c is the centripetal acceleration.
 
... d'oh

That seems so obvious now.

Anyways, that means that an asteroid with a 137km circumference ring drilled into it (the longest manmade tunnel so far) would need to be accelerated to a spin 59.4km/h (instantaneous velocity tangental to the ring) to produce 9.81 m/s2 acceleration... artificial gravity, anyone?
 
The rope is tied into the person (the load of 200 pounds) and the rope goes up from the person to a fixed pulley and back down to his hands. He hauls the rope to suspend himself in the air. What is the mechanical advantage of the system? The person will indeed only have to lift half of his body weight (roughly 100 pounds) because he now lessened the load by that same amount. This APPEARS to be a 2:1 because he can hold himself with half the force, but my question is: is that mechanical...
Some physics textbook writer told me that Newton's first law applies only on bodies that feel no interactions at all. He said that if a body is on rest or moves in constant velocity, there is no external force acting on it. But I have heard another form of the law that says the net force acting on a body must be zero. This means there is interactions involved after all. So which one is correct?
Thread 'Beam on an inclined plane'
Hello! I have a question regarding a beam on an inclined plane. I was considering a beam resting on two supports attached to an inclined plane. I was almost sure that the lower support must be more loaded. My imagination about this problem is shown in the picture below. Here is how I wrote the condition of equilibrium forces: $$ \begin{cases} F_{g\parallel}=F_{t1}+F_{t2}, \\ F_{g\perp}=F_{r1}+F_{r2} \end{cases}. $$ On the other hand...
Back
Top