Class 7, Thursday, September 22, 2016

Reading: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3

Circular Motion

We know that acceleration can be achieved by changing the velocity,

 Δv  dv

a= and a =
Δt dt

How can the velocity be changed?

€ 1) We may change the magnitude of the velocity keeping its direction constant.

2) We may change the direction of the velocity keeping its magnitude constant.

The change in velocity between points 1 and 2, for example, happens because of the
change in direction of the velocity vector between these two points. We illustrated Δv in
the right figure above.

3) Both the magnitude and the direction of the velocity can change. This could happen,
€
for instance, when you are driving on a curved path.

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(a) Uniform Circular Motion

We have seen in the past classes that in order to curve an object’s path, an acceleration
needs to be applied in a direction that is oblique with respect to the original straight path
of the object. We will work out that if the acceleration is continuously perpendicular to
the object’s trajectory and constant in magnitude, it does not lead to a change in the
object’s speed, but only changes its direction of motion. This is what happens during
uniform circular motion. As opposed to that, when the circular motion is not uniform,
both the object’s speed and the direction of the velocity vector change in time. We will
not worry about this for the time being. With this type of motion you can see that
acceleration does not necessarily entail a change in speed! An object in uniform circular
motion accelerates, yet its speed remains constant. In the following we would like to find
the acceleration for this type of motion, that is the direction and the magnitude of the
acceleration vector need to be derived.
!
Consider a particle, P, located a position R with respect to the origin of a Cartesian
system. The position makes an angle, θ, with respect to the positive x-axis. Where will
we find this particle, some time, t, later? What will then be its velocity components?
What will be its acceleration?

The change in the angular position with respect to time is, in analogy to the speed, called
Angular Speed, ω , measured in rad / s .

⇒ vx = −Rω sin θ vy = Rω cosθ

The speed then is, v = vx2 + vy2 = Rω . What is the direction of the velocity?

The velocity is tangential to the trajectory, and for the point given, it is a vector in the
second quadrant.

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 ! ! !
In unit vector notation, v = −Rω sin θ ⋅ ex + Rω cosθ ⋅ ey .
We now work out the acceleration.

dvx dθ dvy dθ
ax = = −Rω cosθ ⋅ = −Rω 2 cosθ ay = = −Rω sin θ ⋅ = −Rω 2 sin θ
dt dt dt dt

The magnitude of the acceleration is,

a = ax2 + ay2 = Rω 2 .
v v2
Combined with ω = , this leads to a = R/ ⋅ 2/ , the familiar expression for the centripetal
R R
acceleration:

Which direction does it point?

There is an elegant way to find out.

Polar Coordinates
! ! ! ! !
a = −Rω 2 cosθ ⋅ ex − Rω 2 sin θ ⋅ ey = −Rω 2 ( cosθ ⋅ ex + sin θ ⋅ ey ).

We can define a new unit vector, more appropriate to this geometry, which results from
projecting the Cartesian unit vectors along the radial direction. This is:

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 ! ! !
er = cosθ ⋅ ex + sin θ ⋅ ey .

Its positive direction is, by convention, radially outward, i.e. away from the center of the
circle. With it, we can rewrite the acceleration as:

It is called “centripetal”, because it is pointing toward the center of the circular

trajectory. It is “center seeking”.

If, in turn, we examine the velocity in the same light,

! ! ! ! !
v = −Rω sin θ ⋅ ex + Rω cosθ ⋅ ey = Rω (−sin θ ⋅ ex + cosθ ⋅ ey ) ,

We can define a new unit vector, pointing perpendicularly to the radial direction, the
azimuthal direction, as:

! ! !
eϕ = −sin θ ⋅ ex + cosθ ⋅ ey .

Its positive direction is, by convention, counter-clockwise. With it, the velocity can be
rewritten as:

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Orbital Period for Uniform Circular Motion

Since the object is moving at constant speed on the circular path, we find the time it takes
to complete one full circle, or the orbital period by dividing the distance by the speed:

Example 1. Two particles are moving on circular trajectories with constant equal
accelerations. Particle 1 has a twice as large period as particle 2. What is the relationship
between (a) their radii, and (b) their speeds?

a1 = a2 and T1 = 2T2
v2 2π R
a= T=
R v
v2 v2 2/ π/ R1 2/ π/ R2 v
⇒ 1 = 2 (1) =2 ⇒ R1 = 2R2 1 (2)
R1 R2 v1 v2 v2

Plugging (2) into (1) leads to:

v12/ v/ 2 v 2/ v
= 2 ⇒ v2 = 1
2 R/ 2 v/1 R/ 2 2

v1 R
Now back to (2): R1 = 2R2 ⇒ R1 = 4R2 ⇒ R2 = 1
v1 / 2 4

This makes sense, because a particle on a tighter orbit would have to move more slowly
in order to have the same acceleration as a particle on a larger orbit.

Example 2. What are (a) the average velocity and (b) average acceleration of the tip of
the 2.4cm-long hour hand of a clock in the interval from noon to 6PM? Use unit vector
notation with the x-axis pointing toward 3 and the y-axis toward noon.

! ! ! ! ! Δr!
To find v , we need Δr = rf − ri , v= .
Δt

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The interesting aspect of this result is that, while the instantaneous velocities at 1 and 2
point along the x-axis, the average velocity on this time interval points along the y-axis.
Why does this make physical sense?

This is because, between these two points, the object spends as much time moving to the
right as it spends moving to the left, so the x-component of the velocity averages out.

(b)

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Here, the surprising result is that, while the instantaneous acceleration at each of the
prescribed points is along the y-direction, the average acceleration does not have a y-
component. This makes sense in light of the fact that the object spends as much time
!
decreasing its vy as it spends increasing it.

Example 3. The world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched on October 4,
1957, and placed in a nearly circular orbit with the orbital period of 96.2 minutes at an
altitude of 584km. What was its centripetal acceleration in this orbit?

An illustration of the orbit is shown above. Notice that in order to compute the centripetal
acceleration we need the radius of the orbit, that is, the distance from the satellite to the
center of the circle. This is not the same as the altitude! You need to add to the altitude
the Earth radius.

R = 584km + 6371km = 6955km

where R⊕ = 6371km is the Earth's average radius.
Considering uniform circular motion with the period P=96.2s, we can calculate the speed:
2π R 2π ⋅ 6955⋅10 3 m
v= ⇒v= = 7, 571m / s
P 96.2 ⋅ 60s
2
v2
a= ⇒a=
( 7571m / s) = 8.24 m = 8.24 = 0.84g
R 6.955⋅10 6 m s 2 9.8

Note that in order to get a sense about the acceleration, we expressed it in terms of the
familiar gravitational acceleration on the surface of the Earth.

(b) Non-Uniform Acceleration

In uniform circular motion, the magnitude of the velocity cannot change, because the
acceleration only has a component along the radial direction. It has the job of continually
curving the object’s path. If, however, the acceleration has a component along the
azimuthal direction, this component will lead to a change in magnitude of the object’s

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velocity. The acceleration no longer points toward the center, as seen in the figure below.,
and the speed can no longer be constant.

Can you give examples of non-uniform circular motion?

The motion of the simple pendulum and looping a circular loop are only two examples of
many. We will study these in more detail over the next weeks of class.

Forces – Newton’s Laws

Over the past three weeks we observed and analyzed motion, but we did not ask what
causes motion. In particular, we understood that acceleration is needed in order to change
an object’s speed and to curve its path. But what makes acceleration?

This is a question to which Isaac Newton provided an answer in his Principia, published
in 1687. He formulated three laws, which are the basis of classical (Newtonian)
mechanics. I start here with Newton’s 2nd Law, because it addresses the cause for changes
in motion, while his first law, as you will see, follows from the second. In original
wording (however, translated) Law II runs as follows:

“ The alteration of motion is ever proportional to the motive force impress’d; and is
made in the direction of the right line in which that force is impress’d.”

In modern words, this means that the acceleration of a given object along a given
direction is caused by the sum of the forces acting on it. This so-called resultant force
has the same direction as the acceleration:

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 The force is a vector just like the acceleration.

The SI unit of measurement for force is the Newton, which is defined as the force that
needs to be applied to an object with the mass of 1 kg in order to accelerate it by 1m/s2.

m
1N = 1kg ⋅1
s2

Now let’s assume

 a given force acting on an object of mass m. This force will produce an
acceleration, a . If we increased the object’s mass by a factor of 2, while keeping the
€ force constant, what happens to the acceleration?

F/ 2m / ⋅ a2 a
F =€2m ⋅ a 2 versus F = m ⋅ a1 ⇒ = ⇒ a2 = 1
F/ m
/ ⋅ a1 2

The object’s acceleration will halve. If a truck and a small car were pushed with the same
force, the car will have a larger acceleration.
€
What if we doubled the force, while keeping the mass constant? The acceleration will
double. A car with a more powerful engine accelerates better than a car of equal mass
with a weaker engine.

F2 2 F/1 m/ ⋅ a2
F1 = m ⋅ a1 versus F2 = 2F1 = m ⋅ a2 ⇒ = = = 2 ⇒ a2 = 2a1
F1 F/1 m / ⋅ a1

These forces are all external forces, in the sense that they act on the object from the
outside. For example, if we push a container filled with a gas across the floor, the force
we apply on the container is an external force, but the gas is made of molecules that also
interact with each other experiencing so-called internal forces. These do not affect the
state of motion of the container as a whole, as you will see. Thus, when we solve
problems involving forces, we need to first think about what exactly constitutes the
system that we wish to analyze, and then decide which forces are external. As we did
when we studied motion, we will also want to separate the forces into components, and
apply Newton’s 2nd Law along each of these independent directions. The x-component of
the force will only cause acceleration in the x-direction, not in the y- or z-direction. This
procedure makes the analysis much more transparent.
     
Fx = m ⋅ a x Fy = m ⋅ a y Fz = m ⋅ a z

Can there be a situation where we have external forces acting on the object and yet the
acceleration of the object is zero?
€
This is, indeed, possible, provided the resultant force is zero. According to Newton’s 2nd
Law, the acceleration is then zero. This means that in the absence of a net external force

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 the object’s acceleration is zero and it will either move at constant velocity or remain at
rest. This is the so-called Newton’s 1st Law.
   
If Fres = ∑ Fi = 0 ⇒ 0=m⋅a ⇒ a =0
i

Example 4. Three forces act on a block along a frictionless floor, two of which have been

represented in the diagram below. What is the magnitude and direction of F3 when the
€
block is (a) stationary and (b) moving to the left with a constant speed of 5 m/s?

First, the answer to both (a) and (b), is that the net force on the block must be zero. As a
result, the block may either be at rest, or moving at constant speed.

Now we work out the third, unknown force, by requiring that the sum of the three forces
along the x- and y-direction be independently zero. We first project the 2N-force along
the x- and y-direction.

! ! # 2& )
F1x + F2 x = 4N − 2N ⋅ cos 45o = % 4 − 2/ ⋅ ( N = 2.6N +
$ 2/ ' +
* ⇒ F3 = 2.6 2 +1.4 2 = 3.0N
! 2 2 +
F2 y = 2N ⋅ sin 45o = N = 1.4N +,
2 \

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Weight: A Classic

Weight, which I will call FG , arises from the pull that the Earth exerts on the objects. We
will dedicate some time to the gravitational force at the end of the class. For now, as we
only focus on weight, this is:
 
FG = m ⋅ g

Since the gravitational acceleration is negative along the y-axis, the weight can be
expressed in unit vector form as:
 
FG = −mg ⋅ ey

The weight is a force and in the SI system it is measured in N. Since the weight of an
object depends on g, and g, as you will see, depends on where you are on Earth (or on
some other object, such as the Moon), so does the weight. So, while an object’s mass is
the same everywhere (at least under normal conditions of not too large speeds compared
to the speed of light), the weight can vary. In particular, the weight depends on whether
you measure it in an inertial or a non-inertial frame of reference. We will return to this
issue in a coming class.

Meanwhile, we can worry about how our weight changes as we travel across the globe.
My weight, for example changes from the Equator to the Poles by 2.532 N, if I take

%# F = 49kg ⋅ 9.78033m / s 2 = 479.236N

gE = 9.78033m / s 2 and gP = 9.832m / s 2 ⇒ $ GE
%& FGP = 49kg ⋅ 9.832m / s 2 = 481.768N

Here are some more values, in case you start getting obsessed with your weight.

When we sit on a chair or stand on the floor, gravity acts on us, pulling downward. Why
don’t we fall? When an object slides across an inclined plane without friction, the
component of g along the plane draws the object into an accelerated motion. Why doesn’t

the component of g perpendicular to the plane dig the object into the surface?

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The fact that we don’t sink into the floor, tells us that we experience no net vertical force.
Since gravity (or the weight as we called this force) pulls on us downward, there must be
an upward force of equal magnitude that the floor exerts on us. As we push with our
weight on the floor, the floor pushes back on us with a force of equal magnitude but
acting in the opposite direction. We call this “the normal force”.

Even though these two forces are of equal magnitude and they point in opposite
directions, we can’t say that they cancel out, because they don’t act on the same object. It
makes no sense to add up forces that act on different objects. We exert a force equal to
our weight on the floor. The floor reacts to this push by pushing back on us with the
normal force. Newton formulated these ideas in his 3rd Law:

“To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction: or the forces of two
bodies on each other are always equal and are directed in opposite directions.”

The normal force, specifically, gives us the sensation of weight, and if scales were not
calibrated to indicate your mass, they would really indicate what they measure (in an
inertial frame of reference), i.e. your weight, the force of gravity with which you push
downward, and in response to which the normal force arises. You will soon see how the
reading of the scale is altered if you are in an accelerated frame of reference rather than
an inertial one.

In short, forces always come in action-reaction pairs. Can you think of other examples?

The Earth pulls on us but we also pull on the Earth. Our effect on the Earth, i.e. the
acceleration we impart to it, is, however, very tiny, because the mass of the Earth is so
much larger than our mass.

Returning to the normal force as a reaction to our pushing on the floor with our weight,
we thus have the following two instances:

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  
1) The floor experiences a force FG 2) We experience two forces: Our weight, FG

thanks to us pushing on it. and the normal force, N .

These forces don’t cancel out. They act These forces cancel out. They act on the
on different objects. same object.

Solving problems with Newton’s 2nd Law.

• Draw a picture that illustrates the situation

• Identify all external forces acting on the object.
• You can draw a free-body diagram, in which the object is represented as a dot
and the forces are drawn as vectors, with their tails on the dot and pointing in
the given direction.
• Determine along which direction the motion takes place and include an “x-y”-
coordinate system with the origin on the object. This helps project those forces
that don’t point along the direction of motion.
• Sometimes it is good to also represent the acceleration (as a vector next to the
body).
• Most often you will examine each coordinate axis separately.
• Plug in the numbers and solve.

We will exercise the above scheme on examples.

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