Train on Circular Track

rotating vectors - orthogonal vectors - vector representation of circular motion

What it shows:
A circular train track ¹   is mounted on a board. X-Y axes are painted on the board with the origin at the center of the circle. Vector Arrows representing position, velocity, or acceleration may be attached to the train to demonstrate their orientations relative to the coordinate axes as the train chugs around in uniform circular motion. As above, this is nothing more than a cute prop to help visualize rotating vectors. Rating *

1 Ours is a Lionel™ train (from Eric Fuchs Inc., Boston); the track is 68 cm (27 in) in diameter. A smaller gauge train would not be very visible to a large audience. To power the train, we're using an ancient W.M. Welch Scientific Co. AC/DC power supply, but any low voltage DC supply (rated ~ 6 V, 5A) will do.

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