Question

What is the difference between angular speed, angular velocity, and tangential velocity? I'm confused on what each is used for.

Answer 1

If an object is going a circle, then a radius drawn from the center of the circle
ill change its angle (with the horizontal or x direction) at a rate which is the angular velocity vector. The tangential velocity is the change in distance divided by a short time interval, v = ds/dt and it is at right angles to the radius there.

Answer 2

What about angular speed?

Answer 3

I think I understand angular velocity. It's just the time it takes for the angle to change?

Answer 4

yeah angular velocity, omega, is
\[ \omega = \frac{\Delta \theta}{\Delta t}\]
change in the angle over change in time.

Answer 5

I'm not familiar with angular speed It sounds like angular velocity as a
scalar rather than a vector.

Answer 6

Scalar?

Answer 7

a scalar is something that has a magnitude but no direction.

ie, if you're running at 10 m/s, and you're running North

Your speed , a scalar, is just the value 10 m/s
\[u=10m/s\]

whereas the velocity, a vector, is 10 m/s North
\[\vec{v}=10m/s \ \ \text{North}\]