Circular Motion

physics · movement · force

It's everywhere. You see circular motion all the time: a spinning top, a car turning a corner, a planet orbiting the sun, and even a point on a merry-go-round.

Speed stays same, direction changes. In uniform circular motion, an object can travel at a constant speed but still be accelerating because acceleration isn't just about going faster or slower, it's also about changing direction.

Centripetal force pulls inward. An invisible force always pulls an object toward the center of the circle to keep it moving in that curved path. Without this force, the object would just fly straight.

The string's job. When you spin a rock on a string, the string pulls inward with centripetal force. If the string breaks, the rock flies off in a straight line because the inward force is gone.