TRAJECTORY SOLUTION Treatises
Accelerometers
An accelerometer is
an instrument that measures the sensible acceleration along its sensitive axis.
This sensible acceleration is the ratio of the sum of all non-gravitational
forces acting on the accelerometer, along its sensitive axis, to the mass of the
accelerometer.
It is a common misconception that an accelerometer can
measure acceleration due to gravity. If that were true, then a missile's
navigational computer would not have to calculate this acceleration as a
function of the missile's position in the gravity field.
When an
accelerometer is placed on a table, with its sensitive axis along the
plumb line, it will measure approximately 1 g of acceleration. However, this is
the "acceleration" caused by the force of the table on the accelerometer, a
force that balances the force of gravity to keep the accelerometer stationary.
---- To Be Continued ----