Equations · equation
Centripetal Acceleration
Mechanics · 1673
- Equation
- a = v²/r = ω²r, directed toward the centre
- Field
- Mechanics
- Symbols
- a the acceleration of anything moving on a circle · v its speed · r the circle's radius · ω its angular velocity
- Year
- 1673
Significance
Turning is accelerating, even at constant speed, because the direction of the velocity changes — and the acceleration points inward. Huygens derived it in 1659 and Newton used it to link the Moon's orbit to a falling apple: set it equal to GM/r² and Kepler's third law follows. It is also the load on a spinning flywheel and the reason a centrifuge separates.
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