Centripetal Acceleration

Purpose:

To demonstrate aspects of acceleration in a rotating system and to show the directions of these accelerations.

Equipment:

Rotating Coriolis platform on hand crank frame, liquid accelerometer.

Procedure:

First, place accelerometer perpendicular to radius and slowly crank platform noting position of water in the accelerometer. In this position, the accelerometer can be slid to different distances along the tangent line and different accelerations can be observed for the same rotational velocity. Next, place the accelerometer along the radius and spin. It is plainly visible that the acceleration is directed to the center of the rotating platform.