Tangential speed
how quickly an object undergoes movement in a circular path
Tangential speed is the speed of an object undergoing circular motion, i.e., moving along a circular path. A point on the outside edge of a merry-go-round or turntable travels a greater distance in one complete rotation than a point nearer the center. Travelling a greater distance in the same time means a greater speed, and so linear speed is greater on the outer edge of a rotating object than it is closer to the axis. This speed along a circular path is known as tangential speed because the direction of motion is tangent to the circumference of the circle. For circular motion, the terms linear speed and tangential speed are used interchangeably, and is measured in SI units as meters per second (m/s).
Formula
Rotational speed (or rotational frequency) measures the number of revolutions per unit of time. All parts of a rigid merry-go-round or turntable turn about the axis of rotation in the same amount of time. Thus, all parts share the same rate of rotation, or the same number of rotations or revolutions per unit of time.
When a direction is assigned to rotational speed, it is known as rotational velocity, a vector whose magnitude is the rotational speed.
(Angular speed and angular velocity are related to the rotational speed and velocity by a factor of 2π, the number of radians turned in a full rotation.)
Tangential speed and rotational speed are related: the faster an object rotates around an axis, the larger the speed.
The public source identifies “Tangential speed” as how quickly an object undergoes movement in a circular path. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Tangential, speed and quickly.
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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Tangential speed”, the useful work is to connect “how quickly an object undergoes movement in a circular path” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Contemporary correspondence, administrative files and participant testimony can test how later narratives organized the event or institution. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q120776025. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Tangential speed” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.