Uniform Circular Motion

Uniform circular motion can be described as the motion of an object in a circle at a

constant speed. As an object moves in a circle, it is constantly changing its direction. At
all instances, the object is moving tangent to the circle. Since the direction of the
velocity vector is the same as the direction of the object's motion, the velocity vector is
directed tangent to the circle as well. The animation at the right depicts this by means
of a vector arrow.
An object moving in a circle is accelerating. Accelerating objects are objects which are
changing their velocity - either the speed (i.e., magnitude of the velocity vector) or the
direction. An object undergoing uniform circular motion is moving with a constant
speed. Nonetheless, it is accelerating due to its change in direction. The direction of the
acceleration is inwards. The animation at the right depicts this by means of a vector
arrow.
The final motion characteristic for an object undergoing uniform circular motion is the
net force. The net force acting upon such an object is directed towards the center of
the circle. The net force is said to be an inward or centripetal force. Without such an
inward force, an object would continue in a straight line, never deviating from its
direction. Yet, with the inward net force directed perpendicular to the velocity vector,
the object is always changing its direction and undergoing an inward acceleration.

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.

Main concepts of circular motion

Uniform and non-uniform circular motion
Circular motion is the movement of an object on a circular path. This means that the movement of
the object traces the arc of a circle (as opposed to following an arbitrary curved path).
Circular motion can be classified into uniform and non-uniform circular motion:
An object undergoing uniform circular motion moves with a constant speed (only the direction
changes).
An object undergoing non-uniform circular motion moves with varying speed.
Unless otherwise mentioned, it is assumed (by convention) that objects undergoing circular motion
do so uniformly (i.e. with constant speed).

Newton's laws and circular motion

Newton's first law states that an object will continue to move in a straight line with the same
velocity if it is not affected by a force. Therefore, an object undergoing circular motion must have a
force acting on it that changes its direction.
Newton's second law states that an object under the influence of a force will accelerate in the
direction of the force.
This means that the force on the object cannot have components that are in the direction of the
velocity. The force must therefore always be perpendicular to the velocity of the object (i.e.
pointing to the centre of circular motion).
Acceleration in uniform circular motion is therefore perpendicular to the trajectory. In non-uniform
circular motion, a non-zero component remains in the direction of motion.