Category:Tangential

Tan*gen"tial, a. (geom.)

Defn: of or pertaining to a tangent; in the direction of a tangent. Tangential force (mech.), a force which acts on a moving body in the Direction of a tangent to the path of the body, its effect being to Increase or diminish the velocity; -- distinguished from a normal Force, which acts at right angles to the tangent and changes the Direction of the motion without changing the velocity. -- tangential stress. (engin.) See shear, n., 3.