PHYS53 - Introduction to Angle, Angular Velocity, and Angular Acceleration

This is the fourth in a series of basic physics courses. The topic of this course is angular motion. This is important in that the motion of a rigid body can be broken into two parts, the translational motion of the center of mass, and the rotational motion about the center of mass. This course covers the basic kinematic variables of angular motion, and the next course in this series will cover the dynamics.

The course outline for this course is as follows:

• Introduction
• Angular Motion in 2-dimensions
  • Angle (θ )
    • Definition
    • Angular Measure
    • Angle Between Two Vectors
    • Polar Angle
    • Angle and Circular Motion
    • Dependence on Origin
    • Rotation Operators
  • Angular Velocity (ω)
    • Relation to radius and velocity
  • Angular Acceleration (α )
  • Rigid Bodies in Two Dimensions
    • Definition
    • Position and Orientation
• The Center of Mass
• Angular Motion in 3-dimensions
  • Angle (θ,φ)
    • Polar and Azimuthal Angles
    • Azimuth and Elevation
    • Direction Cosines
    • Rotation Operators
  • Angular Velocity
  • Angular Acceleration
  • Vector Quantities and Angle
    • Vector Spaces
    • Polar and Axial Vectors
    • Differential Rotation as a Vector
  • Rigid Bodies in Three Dimensions
    • Position and Orientation
• Applications
  • Radar, Sonar, and Lidar
  • Astronomical Observation
  • Navigation
  • Coordinate Measuring Machines
  • The Pendulum
• Summary

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