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CircularMotion
Circular Motion
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| centripetal force | force of object toward center of a circle that causes object to move in a circle |
| centripetal acceleration | acceleration of object toward the center of a circle, speed constant while direction changes |
| uniform circular motion | speed is constant (does not speed up or slow down); speed's direction changes; object experiences a centripetal acceleration |
| tangential velocity | velocity tangent to the circular motion; perpendicular to centripetal force |
| Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation | Objects attract other objects with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. |
| gravitational constant | G in the gravitational force equation; units: N m^2 / kg^2 |
| universal gravitational force | gravitational force is proportional to the inverse; square of the distance between two objects the greater the mass, the larger the gravitational force; r is the distance between the center of mass of two objects |
| weightlessness | lack of normal force |
| torque | measure of a forces tendency to rotate an object around an axis torque increases as lever arm length increases; units: N m |
| lever arm | distance between force and pivot point; the longer the lever arm, the greater the torque |
| rotational equilibrium | the object does not rotate; the sum of the torques equals zero |
| center of mass | the point where all the mass is concentrated. When an object is supported at its center of mass there is no net torque acting on it |
| orbit | gravity is the centripetal force that causes orbit; objects in orbit are constantly falling; requires a very large mass for an object to gravitationally orbit it |