You can't express the position in a polar system consistently, because whenθ isn't constant, r is not with respect to any fixed center. It could be dθ/dt and dr/dt of the velocity, though.
(θ is the angle of both the position and the velocity, but not the acceleration.)
The motion is along the curve of a circle whose center varies with the steering wheel, so what I called d²x/dt² could be seen as the tangential velocity, but then we'd have to call the steering wheel θ/x.
I've changed it to d²v/dt² to just duck the question of which direction it is.
Wait, I'm confused. d²v/dt² is the third derivative of position. I could say dv/dt, but that reduces the point I'm trying to make. So, r. (I asked a physics teacher and he said r...)
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kpreid
(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-26 14:43 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-26 17:25 (UTC)(θ is the angle of both the position and the velocity, but not the acceleration.)
The motion is along the curve of a circle whose center varies with the steering wheel, so what I called d²x/dt² could be seen as the tangential velocity, but then we'd have to call the steering wheel θ/x.
I've changed it to d²v/dt² to just duck the question of which direction it is.
(Then there's the transmission...)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-27 00:16 (UTC)