Angular velocity (ω) (Physics Dictionary)

Angular velocity (ω)

How fast an object rotates or revolves relative to another point, i.e. how fast the angular position or orientation of an object changes with time. There are two types of angular velocity: orbital angular velocity and spin angular velocity. Spin angular velocity refers to how fast a rigid body rotates with respect to its centre of rotation. Orbital angular velocity refers to how fast a rigid body’s centre of rotation revolves about a fixed origin, i.e. the time rate of change of its angular position relative to the origin. In general, angular velocity is measured in angle per unit time, e.g. radians per second. The SI unit of angular velocity is expressed as radians/sec with the radian having a dimensionless value of unity, thus the SI units of angular velocity are listed as 1/sec. Angular velocity is usually represented by the Greek letter omega (ω, sometimes Ω). By convention, positive angular velocity indicates counter-clockwise rotation, while negative is clockwise.