Uniform Circular Motion

"A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it"
Oscar Wilde – Sebastian Melmoth (1904)

· A particle undergoing uniform circular motion moves in a circle with velocity constant in magnitude (constant speed). But the direction of the velocity is continuously changing which means we expect the particle to experience acceleration.

· Considering the situation below it can be shown that the particle experiences an acceleration, a = v²/r. This is known as the centripetal acceleration.

· Note that the direction of this acceleration is towards the center of the circle, such that the velocity and acceleration felt by the particle are always perpendicular.

“If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent out Texas and live in Hell”

General Philip H. Sheridan

Dr. C. L. Davis
Physics Department
University of Louisville
email: c.l.davis@louisville.edu