Centripetal and Centrifugal Force
When the object travels in a circular motion, at every point, some acceleration is experienced by the object, the acceleration acts towards the center of the circle which makes the object move in that circle. The acceleration is known as Radial acceleration or Centripetal acceleration.
In a uniform circular motion, the force acting towards the center is called centripetal force and in order to balance that force, the force that acts outside the circle is known as centrifugal force.
The mathematical expression for the Force acting toward the center is given as,
Fc = mv2/r
Note:
- The direction of Velocity is always tangent to the circle at all points.
- The acceleration vector will always be perpendicular to the velocity vector and hence, will always point toward the center.
- The Centripetal force always acts towards the center.
Learn more about, Centripetal and Centrifugal Force
Uniform Circular Motion
Uniform Circular Motion as the name suggests, is the motion of a moving object with constant speed in a circular path. As we know, motion in a plane only has two coordinates, either x, and y, y and z, or z and x. Except for Projectile motion, circular motion is also an example of motion in a 2-D plane.
In a uniform circular motion, the object moves with constant speed but not with constant velocity as the direction of the motion is due to the circular path always changing. From the motion of electrons in Bohr’s Atomic model to the motion of the hands of an analog clock, we can see Uniform Circular Motion around us.
In this article, we will learn about the details of Uniform Circular Motion i.e., formulas related to uniform circular motion, examples, and the equation of motion of the uniform circular motion.
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