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Definition: acceleration from Dictionary of Energy

Physics. the rate of change in velocity with respect to time.

acceleration

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
change in the velocity of a body with respect to time. Since velocity is a vector quantity, involving both magnitude and direction, acceleration is also a vector. In order to produce an acceleration, a force must be applied to the body. The magnitude of the force F must be directly proportional to both the mass of the body m and the desired acceleration a , according to Newton's second law of motion, F = ma. The exact nature of the acceleration produced depends on the relative directions of the original velocity and the force. A force acting in the same direction as the velocity changes only the speed of the body. An appropriate force acting always at right angles to the velocity changes the direction of the velocity but not the speed. An example of such an accelerating force is the gravitational force exerted by a planet on a satellite moving in a circular orbit. A force may also act in the opposite direction from the original velocity. In this case the speed of the body is decreased. …
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Full text Article acceleration

From Philip's Encyclopedia
Amount by which the velocity (speed in a particular direction) of an object increases in a certain time. Acceleration can involve a change in speed and direction. It is measured in metres or feet per second per second (m/s 2 or ft/s 2 ). For example, if an object accelerates from 20m/s 2 to 30m/s 2…
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Full text Article acceleration

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Rate of change of the velocity of a moving body. For example, an object falling towards the ground covers more distance in each successive time interval. Therefore, its velocity is changing with time and the object is accelerating. It is usually measured in metres per second per second (m s −2 ) or…
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Full text Article acceleration

From The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics
Symbol: a. The rate of change of velocity with respect to time, expressed in metres per second per second (ms -2 ) or similar units. The rate of decrease of velocity with time, i.e. ‘negative acceleration’, is called deceleration . The average acceleration during some interval is equal to the change…
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Full text Article acceleration

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
change in the velocity of a body with respect to time. Since velocity is a vector quantity, involving both magnitude and direction, acceleration is also a vector. In order to produce an acceleration, a force must be applied to the body. The magnitude of the force F must be directly proportional to…
| 255 words
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Full text Article acceleration

From The American Heritage Student Science Dictionary
The rate of change of the velocity (that is, the speed or direction) of a moving body with respect to time. A body accelerates if its speed changes, if the direction of its motion changes, or if both its speed and direction of motion change. See more at gravity , relativity . acceleration Legend has…
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Full text Article Fire Acceleration

From Encyclopedia of Wildfires and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires
Fire Acceleration, Fig. 1 Illustration of...
Synonyms Fire build-up Definition Acceleration is the rate of increase of a rate. For wildland fires, acceleration is typically associated with the rate of increase of fire spread rate in one dimension over time with units of m s −2 . As depicted in Fig. 1 , fire growth occurs in two dimensions; …
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Full text Article Temporal Acceleration

From Major Sociocultural Trends Shaping the Contemporary World Full text Article Culture in the Contemporary World
One of the main features of the modern age is temporal acceleration. Simply put, the world is turning faster than ever. German philosopher Luebbe suggests that Western societies experience the “contraction of the present” because of the accelerating rates of cultural and social innovation [ 25 ]. …
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Full text Article acceleration error

From An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation
Aircraft accelerates from 180 knots to 210 knots...
i. An error in magnetic compasses caused by acceleration forces acting on the dip-compensating weight when an aircraft is flying in an east-west direction. In the Northern Hemisphere, when the aircraft accelerates in an east-west direction the compass indicates the aircraft is turning north; it…
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Full text Article acceleration

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Rate of change of velocity . Acceleration, like velocity, is a vector quantity: it has both magnitude and direction. The velocity of an object moving on a straight path can change in magnitude only, so its acceleration is the rate of change of its speed. On a curved path, the velocity may or may not…
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Full text Article Acceleration of Gifted Children

From Encyclopedia of Special Education: A Reference for the Education of Children, Adolescents, and Adults with Disabilities and Other Exceptional Individuals
Acceleration has been defined as “progress through an educational program at rates faster or at ages younger than conventional” ( Pressey ,, p. 2). Acceleration of gifted children is employed to allow students to engage in academics at the appropriate individual pace and level of complexity. …
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