Uniform Circular Motion!

Uniform circular motion is the motion of an object

!!

travelling a circular path at constant speed.!

The constant time taken for one !

!!

revolution is called the period T. The!

period and speed of the object are !
related by the equation
distance 2"r
v= =
time T
where 'r' is the radius of the circle.!

!!Due to change of direction, velocity (not speed) is also

changing.! That means there is an acceleration.! !"

Facts/Fiction of Uniform Circular

"! Velocity:! Motion!
#! Magnitude: constant v!
#! The direction of the velocity
is tangent to the circle!
"! Accelerationdue to “center!
seeking” force:! ! v2
Magnitude: !
a =
c !
#!
r
directed toward the center of
the circle of motion! ! !
#!

ac "v
"! Period: !
#! time! interval required for one
complete revolution of the
particle! distance 2"r
v= =
time T
"! Fiction: “centrifugal
! force”! #"

!
 For an object travelling in a Centripetal Force!
circle with a speed of v is
accelerating towards the
centre of the circle with a
magnitude of v2/r!
!! The faster the object is
travelling the greater the
acceleration!
!! The smaller the circle radius the
greater the acceleration!

A simple proof of Centripetal Acceleration!

$"

Artificial Gravity!
!!Deep Space 9 is rotating with constant speed (sorry I
rotated the system). The radius of it is 156 m. How
fast would it need to rotate to provide the !
equivalence of Earth’s gravity? !
v2
ac = = 9.81
r
" v = 9.81#156 = 39.12 m/s
For this vertical rotational system, if
Nog drops his precious coin, in what
! direction is coin accelerating?!
A.!Upward
B.!Downwards
C.!In the direction of rotation
D.!Opposite to the rotation
E.!It is not accelerating %"
 Circular Acceleration!
Is the acceleration of an object undergoing
!!

circular motion at a fixed speed constant?

A.!Yes!
B.!No!
C.!It depends...(not enough information given to make a
definitive determination)!

&"

Uniform Non-uniform

'"
 Non-uniform ride

Nearly straight paths Large radius of curvature

General ‘Curvilinear Motion’ in the Plane!

In the plane the acceleration vector can always be decomposed into a
tangential piece (component) and a radial/normal/centripetal piece
(component).!
Note: These components are always mutually perpendicular.
Their vector sum is the ‘total’ acceleration.
rate of change of ‘direction’! ‘radius of curvature’

rate of change of speed!

("

More generic Tangential and Normal Components !

of Acceleration!
(aka radial, aka centripetal)!
Write the velocity as a product of its magnitude (aka its speed)!
and a unit direction vector (that is tangent to the trajectory):!

Differentiate using the product rule:!

Note:!
Tells us how fast the !Tells us how fast the !
speed is changing! direction is changing!

)"
 Acceleration in circular motion!
In a Ferris Ride rotating in a vertical plane, in view
of gravitational accelerations, how should I compute
the acceleration of a small car moving at the top
of the ride, !
A. add gravitational acceleration g!
B. subtract g!
C. Do not add or subtract, its mag. is v2/r.!
D. It will be 2g!
E. None of the above!

*"

Reference Frames!
An observer always sees velocities of other
!!

objects relative to their own!

!! For example, when Lois Lane was in the train watching Clark Kent
(superman) running, she sees him moving even faster than she does.
Of course, we know that to those cheer leaders (and football
players) Clark clearly moved much faster than they thought possible
(considering there is only one local highway).!

Define a reference frame for an observer!

!!

!! This is how the world looks as far as the observer is

concerned e.g. for a passenger on a platform the train
is moving and the station immobile. For the passenger
on the train the reverse is true.!

!+"
 Reference Frames!
Definition: A reference frame is a coordinate system plus a time
scale (e.g., you with a meter stick and a stop watch)
yA yB
xB/A xP/B P
Relative Velocities and Reference
Frames! xP/A
xP/A = xP/B + xB/A
OA OB
A simple algebraic relationship (note: without actual
numbers!)!
P/C = P/D * D/F * F/ E * E/C = P/C
Differentiating with respect to time (we assume everybody!
agrees on the measurement of time intervals):!

Since differentiation is linear we get:!

!!"

Example: In the next scene, Morpheus jumped onto the

truck behind Niobe’s car (both vehicles moving in the
same direction at 20 m/s). Morpheus kicks the agent
off the truck! !
Now, suppose the horizontal velocity of
Morpheus in the air is -10 m/s relative
to the agent, what is Morpheus’
velocity to Neo who is flying toward
the truck from behind with a velocity
of 200 m/s relative to the agent (who
walks toward the front of truck at a
relative speed of 1 m/s)?!
Solutions: Let Morpheus be point M
v M / Neo = v M / Agent + v Agent /Truck + vTruck / Neo
Check math: M / Agent * Agent /Truck * Truck /Neo = M /Neo
v m / Neo = "10 + 1+ ("200) = "209 m/s
!#"

! !
 Galilean Transform (definition)!
!! Introduced by Galileo in “equation of uniform
motion”.!
!!,-./012-30"456755/"!"!#$%%&'&($)!*+(&,&(&!%&+,($-&.++

!"#$%&'()%$*$%$#+$)*%',$-"7588"45827"695"0:55;"21"8<=96"
!! >/"69<0"-5=<35"?35"./;"0:.@5".-5"695"0.35"12-".88"-515-5/@5"
1-.350"
Require the laws of physics in all non-accelerating
!!

reference frames to be the same (Newtonian)!

So if an object is not accelerating in one non-
!!

accelerating reference frame it must not be accelerating

in another!
!!,2"6-./012-3"695"A582@<6B"21"./"24C5@6"1-23"1-.35"DE"62"1-.35"D".;;"

695"A582@<6B"21"1-.35"DE"-58.?A5"62"1-.35"D" !$"

Relative Acceleration and Inertial Reference Frames

Key: the relative velocity of the two reference frames
is constant.
Galilean Transformations (2D, 3D)
! ! ! ! !
rP / A = rP / B + rB / A = rP / B + v B / A t
! ! !
vP / A = vP / B + vB / A
! !
aP / A = aP / B
See animation below:
! P
y
y"
A B
! x
x"

z
z" !
Thus the observers agree on the
acceleration of the particle. In the
next chapter we will interpret this
to mean that the observers agree
on the net force acting on the particle.
!%"
 Example: Simple 2D reference frame !
Suppose a guy who didn’t purchase a train ticket is
trying to avoid the train attendant by climbing to the
top of this moving train at a speed of 0.5 m/s (via a
ladder). The train is moving at a uniform speed of 4
m/s (forward). Find the speed and direction of the
ticket evader the ground.!
Vp/g=??
Solution: Draw a diagram Vp/t=0.25 y

Use p -$ person
! ! ! p
v p / g = v p / t + vt / g Vt/g=4 x
g -$ ground, ! ! !
t $ train. v p / g = (4 m/s)x + (0.5 m/s)y
v p / g = 4 2 + 0.5 2 = 4.03 m/s
! !
arg(v p / g ) = tan"1 (0.25 /4) = 3.58
! !&"

!
!"#$%&'"(()*+%#%,)-.'%
Consider a motor boat crossing a fast flowing
river. The boat can travel at a speed of 6.1 m/s
relative to the water at an angle of 25
upstream on a river flowing at 1.4 m/s. What
is your velocity relative to ground? Speed?
Trajectory?!
Identify: Relativistic problem. Draw a diagram
y

Vb/w=6.1 m/s
25o to x
Vw/g=-1.4m/s

Vb/g
x
Case where the boat goes straight
!'"
 Setup+Execute: If water were still, the boat would
move in 25 deg up. Since water is present and moves
down, the boat would move in a direction closer to x
axis. ! ! ! !
vb / g = vb / w + vw / g
!
v b / g = (6.1cos25 xˆ + 6.1sin25 yˆ ) + ("1.4 yˆ )
= (5.5 xˆ + 2.6 yˆ ) + ("1.4 yˆ )
= 5.5 m/s xˆ + 1.2 m/s yˆ
! one can find speed (length of instantaneous velocity)
Again,
!
of the ! boat relative to ground !
v b / g =! 5.5 2 + 1.2 2 = 5.6 m/s " = tan#1 (1.2 /5.5) = 12 o
What if we want to find velocity of boat relative to water
so that it goes straight across river at 5 m/s?!
! ! !
!
v b / w = v!b / g " v w / g !("

!
(Supplement) An elevator is moving upward at a constant speed of
2.50 m/s. A bolt in the elevator ceiling 3.00 m above the elevator floor works loose and falls.
a) How long does it take for the bolt to fall to the elevator floor? What is the speed of the bolt just
as it hits the elevator floor b) according to an observer in the elevator? c) according to an observer
standing on one floor landings of the building? d) According to the observer in part c), what
distance did the bolt travel between the ceiling and the floor of the elevator?
Solution (This question combines 1D constant acceleration + 1D relative motion.)
Set up what we know about the kinematics:

Write the relative motion expressions for the bolt’s position and velocity
relative to the elevator:

a) Want T such that yB/E(T)=0. i.e.

b)
c)
d) Position of the bolt according to the ground based observer when it hits the floor is:

Thus the distance it travels according to him/her is !)"