Engineering Mechanics
Engineering Mechanics. Instructor: Professor Manoj K Harbola, Department of Physics, IIT Kanpur. In this course, we would be studying mechanical interaction between different bodies when they interact through the forces applied on each other. Topics covered in this course include Review of Newton's laws of motion and vector algebra; Equilibrium of bodies; Plane trusses; Friction; Properties of plane surfaces; Method of virtual work; Motion of particles; Momentum; Work and energy; Rotational kinematics and dynamics; Simple harmonic oscillator; and Motion in non-inertial frames. (from nptel.ac.in)
| Lecture 41 - Motion of a Particle in a Plane in terms of Planar Polar Coordinates |
You have in the past learnt about the use of Cartesian coordinate system in describing position of a particle. Furthermore, its velocity and acceleration is also described in the same coordinate system. However, there are situations, such as the motion of a particle on a circular path, when using polar coordinate system is advantageous. In this lecture we introduce polar coordinates and associated unit vectors. Expressions for velocity and acceleration of a particle in terms of polar coordinates are also derived. These expressions are different from simple time derivatives with respect to time because - unlike the unit vectors in Cartesian coordinates - the unit vectors in Cartesian coordinates are not fixed and also change with time.
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