Analyzing Motion in a Circle: Acceleration & Velocity

In summary, the conversation discusses the concept of circular motion and how a heavy body exerts a force on a point mass, causing it to travel in a perfect circle. The direction and speed of the point mass are determined by the acceleration and the distance between the two bodies. The conversation also mentions the possibility of deviations from circular motion and how the motion can be described with time as a variable.
  • #1
nikeadidas
15
0
I was thinking about how planets revolve around sun. Although they subscribe a elliptical motion, my question is very similar.
A heavy body exerts a force on a point mass, say with an acceleration of "a". If we take the direction of this acceleration to be X, what is the linear uniform velocity with which it must travel in Y direction, so that the body travels in a perfect circle?..
Can we analyze this without taking any force into consideration, I mean the force exerted could be gravitational or magnetic, it doesn't matter. What matters is the acceleration "a", and the linear uniform velocity "u".
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
If the motion of the point mass is such that its direction is perpendicular to the direction of the acceleration and its speed is [tex]v=\sqrt{ar}[/tex] where r is the distance between the heavy body and the point mass, then the point mass will describe a circle of radius r around the heavy body.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_motion

If the force between the two bodies does not have a 1/r^2 dependency, then tiny deviations from circular motion may cause the orbit to be unstable.
 
  • #3
Thanx..i want to actually try to describe the circular motion with time as variable. X co-ordinate of the motion would be U*t, while Y co-ordinate would be (-a*t^2/2). For a circle, since X^2+Y^2= R^2, how do I proceed to describe the circular motion, such that by only changing the value of t in small intervals, the corresponding values of X&Y co-ordinates would describe a circle.
 

1. What is circular motion and how is it different from linear motion?

Circular motion is the movement of an object along a circular path. It is different from linear motion because the object's direction is constantly changing, making its velocity and acceleration also constantly changing. In linear motion, the object moves in a straight line with a constant velocity and acceleration.

2. What is centripetal acceleration and how is it related to circular motion?

Centripetal acceleration is the acceleration experienced by an object moving in a circular path. It is always directed towards the center of the circle and its magnitude is equal to v²/r, where v is the object's velocity and r is the radius of the circle. Centripetal acceleration is necessary for an object to maintain its circular motion.

3. How can we calculate an object's tangential velocity in circular motion?

Tangential velocity is the velocity of an object along a tangent to its circular path. It can be calculated by multiplying the object's angular velocity (ω) by the radius of the circle (r). The formula for tangential velocity is v = ωr.

4. What is the relationship between tangential velocity and angular velocity?

Tangential velocity and angular velocity are directly proportional to each other. This means that as one increases, the other also increases. However, they are not equal to each other. Tangential velocity is the linear velocity of an object while angular velocity is the rate at which an object is rotating around a fixed axis.

5. How does an object's acceleration change in circular motion?

An object's acceleration in circular motion is constantly changing because its direction is constantly changing. The object's acceleration is always directed towards the center of the circle and its magnitude is equal to v²/r, where v is the object's velocity and r is the radius of the circle. As the object's velocity changes, so does its acceleration, resulting in a constantly changing centripetal acceleration.

Similar threads

Replies
15
Views
2K
  • Mechanics
Replies
16
Views
955
Replies
66
Views
3K
Replies
54
Views
6K
Replies
34
Views
3K
Replies
9
Views
887
Replies
4
Views
918
Replies
18
Views
2K
Back
Top