An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The rate of change of the → tangential velocity of a body moving along a circular path. The direction of centripetal acceleration is always inward along the → radius vector of the → circular motion. The magnitude of the centripetal acceleration is related to the → tangential velocity (v) and → angular velocity (ω) as follows: a_c = v²/r = rω². According to → Newton’s second law, an object undergoing centripetal acceleration is experiencing a → centripetal force.

See also: → centripetal; → acceleration.