Centripetal Force

Speed and Velocity

Suppose that you were driving a car with the steering wheel turned in such a manner that your
car followed the path of a perfect circle with a constant radius. And suppose that as you drove,
your speedometer maintained a constant reading of 10 mi/hr. In such a situation as this, the
motion of your car could be described as experiencing uniform circular motion. Uniform
circular motion is the motion of an object in a circle with a constant or uniform speed.

Calculation of the Average Speed

Uniform circular motion - circular motion at a constant speed - is one of many forms of
circular motion. An object moving in uniform circular motion would cover the same linear
distance in each second of time. When moving in a circle, an object traverses a distance
around the perimeter of the circle. So if your car were to move in a circle with a constant
speed of 5 m/s, then the car would travel 5 meters along the perimeter of the circle in
each second of time. The distance of one complete cycle around the perimeter of a circle
is known as the circumference. With a uniform speed of 5 m/s, a car could make a
complete cycle around a circle that had a circumference of 5 meters. At this uniform
speed of 5 m/s, each cycle around the 5-m circumference circle would require 1 second.
At 5 m/s, a circle with a circumference of 20 meters could be made in 4 seconds; and at
this uniform speed, every cycle around the 20-m circumference of the circle would take
the same time period of 4 seconds. This relationship between the circumference of a
circle, the time to complete one cycle around the circle, and the speed of the object is
merely an extension of the average speed equation stated in Unit 1 of The Physics
Classroom.

The circumference of any circle can be computed using from the radius according to the equation
Circumference = 2*pi*Radius
Combining these two equations above will lead to a new equation relating the speed of an object
moving in uniform circular motion to the radius of the circle and the time to make one cycle
around the circle (period).

where R represents the radius of the circle and T represents the period. This equation, like all
equations, can be used as an algebraic recipe for problem solving. It also can be used to guide
our thinking about the variables inthe equation relate to each other. For instance, the equation
suggests that for objects moving around circles of different radius in the same period, the object
traversing the circle of larger radius must be traveling with the greatest speed. In fact, the
average speed and the radius of the circle are directly proportional. A twofold increase in radius
corresponds to a twofold increase in speed; a threefold increase in radius corresponds to a
three--fold increase in speed; and so on. To illustrate, consider a strand of four LED lights

positioned at various locations along the strand. The strand is held at one end and spun rapidly
in a circle. Each LED light traverses a circle of different radius. Yet
since they are connected to the same wire, their period of rotation is
the same. Subsequently, the LEDs that are further from the center of
the circle are traveling faster in order to sweep out the circumference
of the larger circle in the same amount of time. If the room lights are
turned off, the LEDs created an arc that could be perceived to be
longer for those LEDs that were traveling faster - the LEDs with the
greatest radius. This is illustrated in the diagram at the right.

The Direction of the Velocity Vector

Objects moving in uniform circular motion will have a constant
speed. But does this mean that they will have a constant velocity? Recall from Unit 1 of
The Physics Classroom that speed and velocity refer to two distinctly different quantities.
Speed is a scalar quantity and velocity is a vector quantity. Velocity, being a vector, has
both a magnitude and a direction. The magnitude of the velocity
vector is the instantaneous speed of the object. The direction of
the velocity vector is directed in the same direction that the
object moves. Since an object is moving in a circle, its direction is
continuously changing. At one moment, the object is moving
northward such that the velocity vector is directed northward.
One quarter of a cycle later, the object would be moving
eastward such that the velocity vector is directed eastward. As
the object rounds the circle, the direction of the velocity vector is
different than it was the instant before. So while the magnitude
of the velocity vector may be constant, the direction of the
velocity vector is changing. The best word that can be used to
describe the direction of the velocity vector is the word tangential. The direction of the
velocity vector at any instant is in the direction of a tangent line drawn to the circle at
the object's location. (A tangent line is a line that touches a circle at one point but does
not intersect it.) The diagram at the right shows the direction of the velocity vector at
four different points for an object moving in a clockwise direction around a circle. While
the actual direction of the object (and thus, of the velocity vector) is changing, its
direction is always tangent to the circle.
To summarize, an object moving in uniform circular motion is moving around the
perimeter of the circle with a constant speed. While the speed of the object is constant,
its velocity is changing. Velocity, being a vector, has a constant magnitude but a
changing direction. The direction is always directed tangent to the circle and as the
object turns the circle, the tangent line is always pointing in a new direction.

Acceleration
As mentioned earlier in Lesson 1, an object moving in uniform circular motion is moving
in a circle with a uniform or constant speed. The velocity vector is constant in magnitude
but changing in direction. Because the speed is constant for such a motion, many
students have the misconception that there is no acceleration. "After all," they might
say, "if I were driving a car in a circle at a constant speed of 20 mi/hr, then the speed is

neither decreasing nor increasing; therefore there must not be an acceleration." At the
center of this common student misconception is the wrong belief that acceleration has to
do with speed and not with velocity. But the fact is that an accelerating object is an
object that is changing its velocity. And since velocity is a vector that has both
magnitude and direction, a change in either the magnitude or the direction constitutes a
change in the velocity. For this reason, it can be safely concluded that an object moving
in a circle at constant speed is indeed accelerating. It is accelerating because the
direction of the velocity vector is changing.

Geometric Proof of Inward Acceleration

To understand this at a deeper level, we will have to combine the definition of
acceleration with a review of some basic vector principles. Recall that acceleration as a
quantity was defined as the rate at which the velocity of an object changes. As such, it is
calculated using the following equation:

where vi represents the initial velocity and vf represents the final velocity after some time of t.
The numerator of the equation is found by subtracting one vector (vi) from a second vector (vf).
But the addition and subtraction of vectors from each other is done in a manner much different
than the addition and subtraction of scalar quantities. Consider the case of an object moving in a
circle about point C as shown in the diagram below. In a time of t seconds, the object has moved
from point A to point B. In this time, the velocity has changed from vi to vf. The process of
subtracting vi from vf is shown in the vector diagram; this process yields the change in velocity.

The Centripetal Force Requirement

As mentioned earlier in this lesson, an object moving in a circle is experiencing an
acceleration. Even if moving around the perimeter of the circle with a constant speed,
there is still a change in velocity and subsequently an acceleration. This acceleration is
directed towards the center of the circle. And in accord with Newton's second law of
motion, an object which experiences an acceleration must also be experiencing a net
force. The direction of the net force is in the same direction as the acceleration. So for an
object moving in a circle, there must be an inward force acting upon it in order to cause
its inward acceleration. This is sometimes referred to as the centripetal force
requirement. The word centripetal (not to be confused with the F-word centrifugal)

means center seeking. For object's moving in circular motion, there is a net force acting
towards the center which causes the object to seek the center.
To understand the importance of a centripetal force, it is important to have a sturdy
understanding of the Newton's first law of motion - the law of inertia. The law of inertia
states that ...
... objects in motion tend to stay in motion with the same speed and the same direction unless acted upon by an
unbalanced force.
According to Newton's first law of motion, it is the natural tendency of all moving objects
to continue in motion in the same direction that they are moving ... unless some form of
unbalanced force acts upon the object to deviate its motion from its straight-line path.
Moving objects will tend to naturally travel in straight lines; an unbalanced force is only
required to cause it to turn. Thus, the presence of an unbalanced force is required for
objects to move in circles.

Inertia, Force and Acceleration for an Automobile Passenger

The idea expressed by Newton's law of inertia should not be surprising to us. We
experience this phenomenon of inertia nearly everyday when we drive our automobile.
For example, imagine that you are a passenger in a car at a traffic light. The light turns
green and the driver accelerates from rest. The car begins to accelerate forward, yet
relative to the seat which you are on your body begins to lean backwards. Your body
being at rest tends to stay at rest. This is one aspect of the law of inertia - "objects at
rest tend to stay at rest." As the wheels of the car spin to generate a forward force upon
the car and cause a forward acceleration, your body tends to stay in place. It certainly
might seem to you as though your body were experiencing a backwards force causing it
to accelerate backwards. Yet you would have a difficult time identifying such a
backwards force on your body. Indeed there isn't one. The feeling of being thrown
backwards is merely the tendency of your body to resist the acceleration and to remain
in its state of rest. The car is accelerating out from under your body, leaving you with the
false feeling of being pushed backwards.
Now imagine that you are in the same car moving along at a constant speed
approaching a stoplight. The driver applies the brakes, the wheels of the car lock, and
the car begins to skid to a stop. There is a backwards force upon the forward moving car
and subsequently a backwards acceleration on the car. However, your body, being in
motion, tends to continue in motion while the car is skidding to a stop. It certainly might
seem to you as though your body were experiencing a forwards force causing it to
accelerate forwards. Yet you would once more have a difficult time identifying such a
forwards force on your body. Indeed there is no physical object accelerating you
forwards. The feeling of being thrown forwards is merely the tendency of your body to
resist the deceleration and to remain in its state of forward motion. This is the second
aspect of Newton's law of inertia - "an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the
same speed and in the same direction... ." The unbalanced force acting upon the car
causes the car to slow down while your body continues in its forward motion. You are
once more left with the false feeling of being pushed in a direction which is opposite your
acceleration.
These two driving scenarios are summarized by the following graphic.

In each case - the car starting from rest and the moving car braking to a stop - the
direction which the passengers lean is opposite the direction of the acceleration. This is
merely the result of the passenger's inertia - the tendency to resist acceleration. The
passenger's lean is not an acceleration in itself but rather the tendency to maintain the
state of motion while the car does the acceleration. The tendency of a passenger's body
to maintain its state of rest or motion while the surroundings (the car) accelerate is often
misconstrued as an acceleration. This becomes particularly problematic when we
consider the third possible inertia experience of a passenger in a moving automobile the left hand turn.
Suppose that on the next part of your travels the driver of the car makes a sharp turn to
the left at constant speed. During the turn, the car travels in a circular-type path. That is,
the car sweeps out one-quarter of a circle. The friction force acting upon the turned
wheels of the car causes an unbalanced force upon
the car and a subsequent acceleration. The
unbalanced force and the acceleration are both
directed towards the center of the circle about
which the car is turning. Your body however is in
motion and tends to stay in motion. It is the inertia
of your body - the tendency to resist acceleration that causes it to continue in its forward motion.
While the car is accelerating inward, you continue
in a straight line. If you are sitting on the passenger side of the car, then eventually the
outside door of the car will hit you as the car turns inward. This phenomenon might
cause you to think that you are being accelerated outwards away from the center of the
circle. In reality, you are continuing in your straight-line inertial path tangent to the circle
while the car is accelerating out from under you. The sensation of an outward force and
an outward acceleration is a false sensation. There is no physical object capable of
pushing you outwards. You are merely experiencing the tendency of your body to
continue in its path tangent to the circular path along which the car is turning. You are
once more left with the false feeling of being pushed in a direction that is opposite your
acceleration.

The Centripetal Force and Direction Change

Any object moving in a circle (or along a circular path) experiences a centripetal force.
That is, there is some physical force pushing or pulling the object towards the center of

the circle. This is the centripetal force requirement. The word centripetal is merely an
adjective used to describe the direction of the force. We are not introducing a
new type of force but rather describing the direction of the net force acting upon the
object that moves in the circle. Whatever the object, if it moves in a circle, there is some
force acting upon it to cause it to deviate from its straight-line path, accelerate inwards
and move along a circular path. Three such examples of centripetal force are shown
below.

As a car makes a turn, the As a bucket of water is tied to As the moon orbits the Earth,
force of friction acting upon a
the force of gravity acting
the turned wheels of the
string and spun in a circle, the upon the moon provides the
car provides centripetal
tension force acting upon the centripetal force required for
force required for circular bucket provides the
circular motion.
motion.
centripetal force required for
circular motion.