What is Uniform circular motion: Definition and 311 Discussions

In physics, circular motion is a movement of an object along the circumference of a circle or rotation along a circular path. It can be uniform, with constant angular rate of rotation and constant speed, or non-uniform with a changing rate of rotation. The rotation around a fixed axis of a three-dimensional body involves circular motion of its parts. The equations of motion describe the movement of the center of mass of a body. In circular motion, the distance between the body and a fixed point on the surface remains the same.
Examples of circular motion include: an artificial satellite orbiting the Earth at a constant height, a ceiling fan's blades rotating around a hub, a stone which is tied to a rope and is being swung in circles, a car turning through a curve in a race track, an electron moving perpendicular to a uniform magnetic field, and a gear turning inside a mechanism.
Since the object's velocity vector is constantly changing direction, the moving object is undergoing acceleration by a centripetal force in the direction of the center of rotation. Without this acceleration, the object would move in a straight line, according to Newton's laws of motion.

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  1. J

    Understanding Uniform Circular Motion Calculations

    Hi, I'm having trouble on a set of problems and I was wondering if someone could walk me through how to do one of these so I can at least attempt the rest. The problem says: "A point P moves uniformly along the circle x[squared] + y[squared]= r[squared] with constant agular velocity w. Find...
  2. F

    Newton's 2nd Law Applied to a Particle In Uniform Circular Motion

    Q. In the Bohr model of the hydrogen atom, the speed of the electron is approximately 2.20 x 10^6 m/s. Find (a) the force acting on the electron as it revolves in a circular orbit of radius 0.530 x 10^-10 m and (b) the centripetal acceleration of the electron. I'm going to...
  3. Q

    Dynamics of uniform circular motion and bohr model

    In the Bohr model of the hydrogen atom, an electron (mass m = 9.1 x 10^-31 kg) orbits a proton at a distance of 5.3 x 10^-11 m. The proton pulls on the electron with an electric force of 9.2 x 10^-8 N. How many revolutions per second does the electron make? can someone help me solve this...
  4. P

    Uniform Circular Motion and wheel revolutions

    A clump of mud is attached to the outside of a bicycle wheel, radius 700mm. how many revolutions per second does this wheel have to spin to fling off the mud if the coefficient of static friction attaching it to the wheel is 0.64. The real trouble I am having with this is find the normal...
  5. N

    Max. Speed in Uniform Circular Motion Over Humpback Bridge: 45m Radius

    A question on circular motion i wasn't able to figure without knowing the mass of the body. Can anybody post the ans + procedure. Thanx A car travels over a humpback bridge of radius of curvature 45m. Calculate the max. speed of the car if it's road wheels are to stay in contact with the...
  6. A

    Uniform circular motion of a rolling object

    A soccer ball of diameter 33cm rolls without slipping at a linear speed of 2.4m/s. Through how many revolutions has the soccer ball turned as it moves a linear distance of 18m? How do I just find the revolutions? I know how to use the equation to find rev/s, but how do I just get...
  7. L

    Calculating Average Acceleration in Uniform Circular Motion

    I've been working on this for awhile. I think I've got it. Ok here's the problem: A particle moves in a circle of radius r completing one cycle in time T. What is the magnitude of the average acceleration over time T and over time T/2? It seems to me that over time T the magitude of the...
  8. S

    What is the tension in a string for an object in non-uniform circular motion?

    non uniform circular motion? A .400 kg object is swung in a vertical circular path on a string 0.500m long. If it's speed is 4.00 m/s at the top of the circle, what is the tension in the string there? i drew my free body diagram and have tension pointing up in the positive y direction. the...
  9. D

    Uniform circular motion question

    I'm trying to solve this problem correctly, but my calculations yield a different result than the correct answer according to my professor. In a semi-classical model of the neutral hydrogen atom, an electron of charge -e and of mass 9.1*10^-31 undergoes uniform circular motion around the much...
  10. A

    Challenging physics problems uniform circular motion, centripetal force

    challenging physics problems...uniform circular motion, centripetal force here is the setup, we had a lab in class, in which a string was strung through a plastic tube. On on end, rubber stoppers were attached and in this case acted as a mass. On the other end, metal masses were hooked on to...
  11. M

    Uniform circular motion - airplane

    I have been having trouble getting key components of this problem: A plan is flying in a horizontal circle at a speed of 480 km/h. The wings are tilted 40 degrees to the horizontal. What is the radius of the circle in which the plane is flying? Assume that the required force is provided...
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