learn something new everyday, and its making my head hurt Options

[brer]

So last night we were working on rotational motion and all i could think about was the crank in my motor and my car going around a corner..
anyone want to help explain this to me?


An object spinning at a constant speed has less acceleration at each consecutive point as you move further out from the center.
acceleration being related to the radius of the rotational orbit and the constant change in directional velocity.


Makes me car sick just thinking about it.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/barf.gif)

[lapuwali]

Acceleration isn't just a change in speed, it's a change in VELOCITY, which is NOT the same thing. Velocity includes direction as well as speed. Any point on a spinning object is undergoing a constant change in velocity, as it's not going straight, but turning. The acceleration is along the radius of the turn. This is why you feel yourself getting pulled outwards when turning, and it is this force that the tires are resisting.

For a given speed, a larger radius of turning gives a lower change in velocity, and thus a lower acceleration. Going straight is the same as turning on an infinite radius, so zero change in velocity. Spinning an object faster is the same as increasing your speed around the same corner.