Question

What is tangential velocity and radial velocity?

Answer 1

Arranged like rays that radiate from, or converge to a common centre. Moving along a radius

Answer 2

The tangential velocity is measured at any point tangent to a rotating wheel. Thus angular velocity, ω, is related to tangential velocity, Vt through formula: Vt = ω r. Here r is the radius of the wheel. Tangential velocity is the component of motion along the edge of a circle measured at any arbitrary instant.

The radial velocity of an object with respect to a given point is the rate of change of the distance between the object and the point. That is, the radial velocity is the component of the object's velocity that points in the direction of the radius connecting the point and the object. In astronomy, the point is usually taken to be the observer on Earth, so the radial velocity then denotes the speed with which the object moves away from the Earth (or approaches it, for a negative radial velocity