CIRCULAR MOTION

When a mass is moving in a horizontal circle with constant speed. At every instant the
velocity is changing, because the direction is constantly changing. Since the velocity is
changing there must be an acceleration, which means that there must be a net force
acting.

In Physics, so far, whenever there has been a non-zero resultant force, then there has
been an acceleration in the direction of the net force, which has produced a change in
speed. We now need to consider the case when the velocity changes but the speed
doesn’t. This occurs when the net force is acting at right angles to the direction of
motion.This is circular motion, where the direction of the object is constantly changing,
therefore the velocity is changing because ‘v’ – ‘u’ is non-zero.

UNIFORM CIRCULAR MOTION

When a constant force is applied at right angles to the direction of motion, then since
the force does not have a component parallel to the velocity, the velocity will not either
increase or decrease.
Uniform circular motion results when a resultant force of constant magnitude acts
normal to the motion of the body.

vi

mass ‘m’

Consider a mass ‘m’ with a constant speed in uniform circular motion. In the position
shown above, the instantaneous velocity and the resultant force are shown as vectors.
If we look at this mass a short time later

vf

mass ‘m’