From its origins physics has tried to understand how things move. In this sense, movement is associated with a series of concepts such as force, speed, inertia or gravity.
Angular velocity
When a mobile moves in a circle of radius r, it travels a space that can be expressed in meters. At the same time, it travels an angle and for this reason we speak of angular displacement.
In uniform circular motion (MCU) an angular-type velocity occurs, usually described by the letter w. This speed indicates the angle described by the radius of a circle in a unit of time. Consequently, angular velocity is equal to the angle divided by time. While angles are measured in degrees, time is measured in seconds (angles can also be measured in radians).
An illustrative example
If a mobile with uniform circular motion takes 10 seconds to make 4 turns, its resulting angular velocity would be 144 degrees per second (since each turn is 360 degrees and 4 turns are made, there is a total of 1440 degrees, which divided by 10 seconds give the amount of 144).
The angular velocity is integrated into a type of movement, the kinematics
Mechanics is the part of physics that studies the movement of bodies. This discipline is divided into three branches: kinematic, dynamic and static. Angular velocity is related to kinematics, since this branch studies the motion of bodies without taking into account their mass or the forces produced by an agent. Dynamics deals with studying the movement of bodies taking into account the forces that produce said movement. Finally, statics studies the bodies that are in equilibrium, that is, at rest.
Sometimes the angular velocity is related to the concept of force. This is what happens in the movement that occurs in the hammer throw in athletics. In this sense, the turns made by the thrower are aimed at making the hammer reach a high angular momentum.
A series of physical concepts are involved in this movement, such as the turning radius, the departure angle of the device, the turning speed and the force exerted by the athlete.
Finally, it is worth remembering that the revolutions per minute (rpm) of washing machines or motor vehicles can also be expressed in units of angular speed.
Photo: Fotolia - sp4764
