Circular motion

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.

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.

Contents
Uniform circular motion
Formulas
In polar coordinates
Using complex numbers
Velocity
Relativistic circular motion
Acceleration
Non-uniform
Applications
See also
References
External links

Uniform circular motion

In physics, uniform circular motion describes the motion of a body traversing a circular path at constant
speed. Since the body describes circular motion, its distance from the axis of rotation remains constant at all
times. Though the body's speed is constant, its velocity is not constant: velocity, a vector quantity, depends
on both the body's speed and its direction of travel. This changing velocity indicates the presence of an
acceleration; this centripetal acceleration is of constant magnitude and directed at all times towards the axis
of rotation. This acceleration is, in turn, produced by a centripetal force which is also constant in magnitude
and directed towards the axis of rotation.
In the case of rotation around a fixed axis of a rigid body that is not
negligibly small compared to the radius of the path, each particle of the
body describes a uniform circular motion with the same angular velocity,
but with velocity and acceleration varying with the position with respect
to the axis.

Formulas
For motion in a circle of radius r, the circumference of the circle is C = 2π
r. If the period for one rotation is T, the angular rate of rotation, also
known as angular velocity, ω is: Figure 1: Velocity v and
acceleration a in uniform
and the units are radians/second circular motion at angular rate
ω; the speed is constant, but
the velocity is always tangent
The speed of the object travelling the circle is: to the orbit; the acceleration
has constant magnitude, but
always points toward the
center of rotation.

The angle θ swept out in a time t is:

The angular acceleration, α, of the particle is:

In the case of uniform circular motion, α will be zero.

The acceleration due to change in the direction is:

Figure 2: The velocity vectors at time t and
time t + dt are moved from the orbit on the
left to new positions where their tails
coincide, on the right. Because the
The centripetal and centrifugal force can also be found out velocity is fixed in magnitude at v = r ω,
the velocity vectors also sweep out a
using acceleration:
circular path at angular rate ω. As dt → 0,
the acceleration vector a becomes
perpendicular to v, which means it points
toward the center of the orbit in the circle
on the left. Angle ω dt is the very small
The vector relationships are shown in Figure 1. The axis of angle between the two velocities and
rotation is shown as a vector ω perpendicular to the plane of tends to zero as dt→ 0.
the orbit and with a magnitude ω = dθ / dt. The direction of ω
is chosen using the right-hand rule. With this convention for
depicting rotation, the velocity is given by a vector cross product as

which is a vector perpendicular to both ω and r(t), tangential to the orbit, and of magnitude ω r. Likewise,
the acceleration is given by
which is a vector perpendicular to both ω and v(t) of
magnitude ω |v| = ω2 r and directed exactly opposite to
r(t).[1]

In the simplest case the speed, mass and radius are

constant.

Consider a body of one kilogram, moving in a circle of

radius one metre, with an angular velocity of one
radian per second. Figure 3: (Left) Ball in circular motion – rope
provides centripetal force to keep ball in circle
(Right) Rope is cut and ball continues in straight
The speed is one metre per second.
line with velocity at the time of cutting the rope, in
The inward acceleration is one metre per accord with Newton's law of inertia, because
square second, v2/r. centripetal force is no longer there.
It is subject to a centripetal force of one
kilogram metre per square second, which is
one newton.
The momentum of the body is one kg·m·s−1.
The moment of inertia is one kg·m2.
The angular momentum is one kg·m2·s−1.
The kinetic energy is 1/2 joule.
The circumference of the orbit is 2π (~6.283)
metres.
The period of the motion is 2π seconds per turn.
The frequency is (2π)−1 hertz.
Figure 1: Vector relationships for uniform circular
motion; vector ω representing the rotation is
In polar coordinates normal to the plane of the orbit.

During circular motion the body moves on a curve that

can be described in polar coordinate system as
a fixed distance R from the center of the orbit
taken as origin, oriented at an angle θ(t) from
some reference direction. See Figure 4. The
displacement vector is the radial vector from
the origin to the particle location:

where is the unit vector parallel to the

radius vector at time t and pointing away from
the origin. It is convenient to introduce the unit
vector orthogonal to as well, namely
. It is customary to orient to point Figure 4: Polar coordinates for circular trajectory. On the left
in the direction of travel along the orbit. is a unit circle showing the changes and in the
unit vectors and for a small increment in angle .
The velocity is the time derivative of the
displacement:
Because the radius of the circle is constant, the radial component of the velocity is zero. The unit vector
has a time-invariant magnitude of unity, so as time varies its tip always lies on a circle of unit radius,
with an angle θ the same as the angle of . If the particle displacement rotates through an angle dθ in
time dt, so does , describing an arc on the unit circle of magnitude dθ. See the unit circle at the left of
Figure 4. Hence:

where the direction of the change must be perpendicular to (or, in other words, along ) because
any change in the direction of would change the size of . The sign is positive, because
an increase in dθ implies the object and have moved in the direction of . Hence the velocity
becomes:

The acceleration of the body can also be broken into radial and tangential components. The acceleration is
the time derivative of the velocity:

The time derivative of is found the same way as for . Again, is a unit vector and its tip
traces a unit circle with an angle that is π/2 + θ. Hence, an increase in angle dθ by implies traces
an arc of magnitude dθ, and as is orthogonal to , we have:

where a negative sign is necessary to keep orthogonal to . (Otherwise, the angle between
and would decrease with increase in dθ.) See the unit circle at the left of Figure 4. Consequently, the
acceleration is:

The centripetal acceleration is the radial component, which is directed radially inward:

while the tangential component changes the magnitude of the velocity:

Using complex numbers
Circular motion can be described using complex numbers. Let the x axis be the real axis and the axis be
the imaginary axis. The position of the body can then be given as , a complex "vector":

where i is the imaginary unit, and is the argument of the complex number as a function of time, t.

Since the radius is constant:

where a dot indicates differentiation in respect of time.

With this notation the velocity becomes:

and the acceleration becomes:

The first term is opposite in direction to the displacement vector and the second is perpendicular to it, just
like the earlier results shown before.

Velocity
Figure 1 illustrates velocity and acceleration vectors for uniform motion at four different points in the orbit.
Because the velocity v is tangent to the circular path, no two velocities point in the same direction.
Although the object has a constant speed, its direction is always changing. This change in velocity is caused
by an acceleration a, whose magnitude is (like that of the velocity) held constant, but whose direction also
is always changing. The acceleration points radially inwards (centripetally) and is perpendicular to the
velocity. This acceleration is known as centripetal acceleration.

For a path of radius r, when an angle θ is swept out, the distance travelled on the periphery of the orbit is s
= rθ. Therefore, the speed of travel around the orbit is

where the angular rate of rotation is ω. (By rearrangement, ω = v/r.) Thus, v is a constant, and the velocity
vector v also rotates with constant magnitude v, at the same angular rate ω.
Relativistic circular motion
In this case the three-acceleration vector is perpendicular to the three-velocity vector,

and the square of proper acceleration, expressed as a scalar invariant, the same in all reference frames,

becomes the expression for circular motion,

or, taking the positive square root and using the three-acceleration, we arrive at the proper acceleration for
circular motion:

Acceleration
The left-hand circle in Figure 2 is the orbit showing the velocity vectors at two adjacent times. On the right,
these two velocities are moved so their tails coincide. Because speed is constant, the velocity vectors on the
right sweep out a circle as time advances. For a swept angle dθ = ω dt the change in v is a vector at right
angles to v and of magnitude v dθ, which in turn means that the magnitude of the acceleration is given by
 Centripetal acceleration for some values of radius and magnitude of velocity
1 m/s 2 m/s 5 m/s 10 m/s 20 m/s 50 m/s 100 m/s
3.6 km/h 7.2 km/h 18 km/h 36 km/h 72 km/h 180 km/h 360 km/h
|v| 2.2 mph 4.5 mph 11 mph 22 mph 45 mph 110 mph 220 mph
Slow
Bicycle City car Aerobatics
r walk

10 cm Laboratory 10 m/s2 40 m/s2 250 m/s2 1.0 km/s2 4.0 km/s2 25 km/s2 100 km/s2
3.9 in centrifuge 1.0 g 4.1 g 25 g 100 g 410 g 2500 g 10000 g
20 cm 5.0 m/s² 20 m/s² 130 m/s² 500 m/s² 2.0 km/s² 13 km/s² 50 km/s²
7.9 in 0.51 g 2.0 g 13 g 51 g 200 g 1300 g 5100 g
50 cm 2.0 m/s² 8.0 m/s² 50 m/s² 200 m/s² 800 m/s² 5.0 km/s² 20 km/s²
1.6 ft 0.20 g 0.82 g 5.1 g 20 g 82 g 510 g 2000 g
1m Playground 1.0 m/s² 4.0 m/s² 25 m/s² 100 m/s² 400 m/s² 2.5 km/s² 10 km/s²
3.3 ft carousel 0.10 g 0.41 g 2.5 g 10 g 41 g 250 g 1000 g
2m 500 mm/s² 2.0 m/s² 13 m/s² 50 m/s² 200 m/s² 1.3 km/s² 5.0 km/s²
6.6 ft 0.051 g 0.20 g 1.3 g 5.1 g 20 g 130 g 510 g
5m 200 mm/s² 800 mm/s² 5.0 m/s² 20 m/s² 80 m/s² 500 m/s² 2.0 km/s²
16 ft 0.020 g 0.082 g 0.51 g 2.0 g 8.2 g 51 g 200 g
Roller-
10 m coaster 100 mm/s² 400 mm/s² 2.5 m/s² 10 m/s² 40 m/s² 250 m/s² 1.0 km/s²
33 ft vertical 0.010 g 0.041 g 0.25 g 1.0 g 4.1 g 25 g 100 g
loop
20 m 50 mm/s² 200 mm/s² 1.3 m/s² 5.0 m/s² 20 m/s² 130 m/s² 500 m/s²
66 ft 0.0051 g 0.020 g 0.13 g 0.51 g 2g 13 g 51 g
50 m 20 mm/s² 80 mm/s² 500 mm/s² 2.0 m/s² 8.0 m/s² 50 m/s² 200 m/s²
160 ft 0.0020 g 0.0082 g 0.051 g 0.20 g 0.82 g 5.1 g 20 g
100 m Freeway 10 mm/s² 40 mm/s² 250 mm/s² 1.0 m/s² 4.0 m/s² 25 m/s² 100 m/s²
330 ft on-ramp 0.0010 g 0.0041 g 0.025 g 0.10 g 0.41 g 2.5 g 10 g
200 m 5.0 mm/s² 20 mm/s² 130 m/s² 500 mm/s² 2.0 m/s² 13 m/s² 50 m/s²
660 ft 0.00051 g 0.0020 g 0.013 g 0.051 g 0.20 g 1.3 g 5.1 g
500 m 2.0 mm/s² 8.0 mm/s² 50 mm/s² 200 mm/s² 800 mm/s² 5.0 m/s² 20 m/s²
1600 ft 0.00020 g 0.00082 g 0.0051 g 0.020 g 0.082 g 0.51 g 2.0 g
1 km High-speed 1.0 mm/s² 4.0 mm/s² 25 mm/s² 100 mm/s² 400 mm/s² 2.5 m/s² 10 m/s²
3300 ft railway 0.00010 g 0.00041 g 0.0025 g 0.010 g 0.041 g 0.25 g 1.0 g

Non-uniform
In non-uniform circular motion an object is moving in a
circular path with a varying speed. Since the speed is
changing, there is tangential acceleration in addition to
normal acceleration.

In non-uniform circular motion the net acceleration (a) is

along direction of Δv which is directed inside circle but does
not pass through its center (see figure). The net acceleration
may be resolved into two components: tangential
acceleration and normal acceleration also known as the centripetal or radial acceleration. Unlike tangential
acceleration, centripetal acceleration is present in both uniform and non-uniform circular motion.
 In non-uniform circular motion, normal force does not always point in
the opposite direction of weight. Here is an example with an object
traveling in a straight path then loops a loop back into a straight path
again.

This diagram shows the normal

force pointing in other directions
rather than opposite to the weight force. The normal force is actually the
sum of the radial and tangential forces. The component of weight force
is responsible for the tangential force here (We have neglected frictional
force). The radial force (centripetal force) is due the change in direction
of velocity as discussed earlier.

In non-uniform circular motion, normal force and weight may point in

the same direction. Both forces can point down, yet the object will remain in a circular path without falling
straight down. First let's see why normal force can point down in the first place. In the first diagram, let's
say the object is a person sitting inside a plane, the two forces point down only when it reaches the top of
the circle. The reason for this is that the normal force is the sum of the tangential force and centripetal
force. The tangential force is zero at the top (as no work is performed when the motion is perpendicular to
the direction of force applied. Here weight force is perpendicular to the direction of motion of the object at
the top of the circle) and centripetal force points down, thus normal force will point down as well. From a
logical standpoint, a person who is travelling in the plane will be upside down at the top of the circle. At
that moment, the person's seat is actually pushing down on the person, which is the normal force.

The reason why the object does not fall down when subjected to only
downward forces is a simple one. Think about what keeps an object up
after it is thrown. Once an object is thrown into the air, there is only the
downward force of earth's gravity that acts on the object. That does not
mean that once an object is thrown in the air, it will fall instantly. What
keeps that object up in the air is its velocity. The first of Newton's laws of motion states that an object's
inertia keeps it in motion, and since the object in the air has a velocity, it will tend to keep moving in that
direction.

A varying angular speed for an object moving in a circular path can also be achieved if the rotating body
does not have an homogeneous mass distribution. For inhomogeneous objects, it is necessary to approach
the problem as in.[2]

Applications
Solving applications dealing with non-uniform circular motion involves force analysis. With uniform
circular motion, the only force acting upon an object traveling in a circle is the centripetal force. In non-
uniform circular motion, there are additional forces acting on the object due to a non-zero tangential
acceleration. Although there are additional forces acting upon the object, the sum of all the forces acting on
the object will have to equal to the centripetal force.
Radial acceleration is used when calculating the total force. Tangential acceleration is not used in
calculating total force because it is not responsible for keeping the object in a circular path. The only
acceleration responsible for keeping an object moving in a circle is the radial acceleration. Since the sum of
all forces is the centripetal force, drawing centripetal force into a free body diagram is not necessary and
usually not recommended.

Using , we can draw free body diagrams to list all the forces acting on an object then set it equal
to . Afterwards, we can solve for what ever is unknown (this can be mass, velocity, radius of curvature,
coefficient of friction, normal force, etc.). For example, the visual above showing an object at the top of a
semicircle would be expressed as .

In uniform circular motion, total acceleration of an object in a circular path is equal to the radial
acceleration. Due to the presence of tangential acceleration in non uniform circular motion, that does not
hold true any more. To find the total acceleration of an object in non uniform circular, find the vector sum
of the tangential acceleration and the radial acceleration.

Radial acceleration is still equal to . Tangential acceleration is simply the derivative of the velocity at
any given point: . This root sum of squares of separate radial and tangential accelerations is
only correct for circular motion; for general motion within a plane with polar coordinates , the
Coriolis term should be added to , whereas radial acceleration then becomes
.

See also
Angular momentum
Equations of motion for circular motion
Example: circular motion
Fictitious force
Geostationary orbit
Geosynchronous orbit
Pendulum (mathematics)
Reactive centrifugal force
Reciprocating motion
Simple harmonic motion#Uniform circular motion
Sling (weapon)

References
1. Knudsen, Jens M.; Hjorth, Poul G. (2000). Elements of Newtonian mechanics: including
nonlinear dynamics (https://books.google.com/books?id=Urumwws_lWUC) (3 ed.). Springer.
 p. 96. ISBN 3-540-67652-X., Chapter 5 page 96 (https://books.google.com/books?id=Urumw
ws_lWUC&pg=PA96)
2. Gomez, R W; Hernandez-Gomez, J J; Marquina, V (25 July 2012). "A jumping cylinder on an
inclined plane" (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236030807_A_jumping_cylinder_on
_an_inclined_plane_A_jumping_cylinder_on_an_inclined_plane). Eur. J. Phys. IOP. 33 (5):
1359–1365. arXiv:1204.0600 (https://arxiv.org/abs/1204.0600).
Bibcode:2012EJPh...33.1359G (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012EJPh...33.1359G).
doi:10.1088/0143-0807/33/5/1359 (https://doi.org/10.1088%2F0143-0807%2F33%2F5%2F13
59). Retrieved 25 April 2016.

External links
Physclips: Mechanics with animations and video clips (https://web.archive.org/web/20070601
020244/http://www.physclips.unsw.edu.au/) from the University of New South Wales
Circular Motion (http://www.lightandmatter.com/html_books/1np/ch09/ch09.html) – a chapter
from an online textbook
Circular Motion Lecture (https://web.archive.org/web/20100117190656/http://ocw.mit.edu/Ocw
Web/Physics/8-01Physics-IFall1999/VideoLectures/detail/embed05.htm) – a video lecture on
CM
[1] (https://www.amazon.com/Unique-Perceptions-Physics-Commentaries-solutions/dp/15427
76058) – an online textbook with different analysis for circular motion

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