The forces involved in uniform circular motion

You should remember the special -- but common -- case of an object moving in a circle with a constant speed, also called "uniform circular motion," or UCM for short.

• in case you don't remember ...

Objects in UCM must be constantly accelerating towards the center of the circle. What does that imply about the forces on them?

• Basic Centripetal force
• Whirling a ball on a string
• UCM and weight

• UCM at the racetrack

• UCM on a skid pad

Objects moving a circular path at constant speed .... hmmm. Could this happen due to gravitational forces?

• The force of the Earth on the Moon
• Designing personal satellites

Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.