B Gravitational acceleration in circular motion

AI Thread Summary
In uniform circular motion, the acceleration of 9.8 m/s², which represents gravitational acceleration, does not disappear but is instead balanced by centripetal acceleration. The centripetal acceleration, calculated as a = v²/r, is responsible for changing the direction of the velocity vector without altering its magnitude. The discussion clarifies that acceleration affects velocity, not speed, which remains constant in uniform circular motion. The concept of a conical pendulum is also mentioned as a related topic that involves both gravitational and centripetal forces. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for grasping the principles of motion in circular paths.
physicsmagician
Messages
1
Reaction score
1
Hi guys, I have a question that is simple but I do not know how to answer that. It is the following, where does the acceleration of 9,8 meters per second squared go when We're dealing with uniform circular motion? I know that We have the centripetal acceleration that is a vector change, but the value of 9,8 I said, where did it go?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
a=\frac{v^2}{r}
You should set values of speed v and radius r to get a=9.8 m/sec^2.

If you are talking on sum of gravity force or acceleration and centrifugal force or acceleration, Conical pendulum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conical_pendulum might be of your interest.

 
Last edited:
  • Informative
Likes physicsmagician
What do you mean "where does it go"? Are you asking why the speed doesn't change? If so, the point is that acceleration doesn't change speed, it changes velocity. In the particular case of circular motion it happens not to change the magnitude of the vector, that's all.
 
  • Like
  • Informative
Likes physicsmagician and vanhees71
The rope is tied into the person (the load of 200 pounds) and the rope goes up from the person to a fixed pulley and back down to his hands. He hauls the rope to suspend himself in the air. What is the mechanical advantage of the system? The person will indeed only have to lift half of his body weight (roughly 100 pounds) because he now lessened the load by that same amount. This APPEARS to be a 2:1 because he can hold himself with half the force, but my question is: is that mechanical...
Hello everyone, Consider the problem in which a car is told to travel at 30 km/h for L kilometers and then at 60 km/h for another L kilometers. Next, you are asked to determine the average speed. My question is: although we know that the average speed in this case is the harmonic mean of the two speeds, is it also possible to state that the average speed over this 2L-kilometer stretch can be obtained as a weighted average of the two speeds? Best regards, DaTario
Some physics textbook writer told me that Newton's first law applies only on bodies that feel no interactions at all. He said that if a body is on rest or moves in constant velocity, there is no external force acting on it. But I have heard another form of the law that says the net force acting on a body must be zero. This means there is interactions involved after all. So which one is correct?
Back
Top