Sunday, December 11, 2011

Physics Swing Circular Motion Blog #5

This swing shown in this video displays several properties of physics.  If I had the variables, I could find it's linear acceleration, which is a change in speed.  The linear acceleration can be found by using the equation a=∆V/t.  Since the swing was also moving in a circular motion, it has centripetal acceleration too! In caveman terms, centripetal acceleration is a change in direction, which the swing is certainly doing. The equation for centripetal acceleration is ac=mv^2/r, or alternatively, ac=ω^2r. We can also find ω (wumbo) from the equation. Wumbo is the symbol for angular speed, which can be measured in rpm or rad/s. In other languages, wumbo also is a verb and a noun.

If I have wumbo, then I can also find my linear velocity using the equation v=rω. The swing has linear velocity, linear acceleration, angular speed, and angular velocity. Next time I go on it, I will try to increase my velocity by increasing my rpm (ω) as well as my radius.

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