Circular Motion is defined as the movement of an object along circumference of a circle. Some examples of circular motion are motion of moon around the earth, motion of a satellite in a circular orbit around the earth and motion of a cyclist on a circular tract etc.
In last episode, we talked about acceleration. We learnt that change in velocity per unit time is known as acceleration. Now let’s take a step ahead and find out on what factors change in velocity depends. From our previous episodes we know that velocity does not only depends on magnitude of speed, but it also depends on the direction of motion. That suggests that there are three ways to make change in velocity.
- If direction is kept constant and magnitude of speed is changed, velocity will change.
- If magnitude of speed is kept constant and direction is changed, velocity will change.
- and if magnitude of speed and direction are changed, velocity will change.
In a circular path, direction of motion changes at every point on the circle. Hence when an object moves on a circular track. Its direction keeps changing at every moment that makes a constant change in its velocity. That is why a circular motion is also known as accelerated motion. This accelerated motion is also subdivided into two categories.
- Uniform circular motion
- Non-uniform circular motion
When an object moves in a circular path with uniform speed, its motion is called uniform circular motion.
Similarly, when an object moves in a circular path with non-uniform speed, its motion is called non-uniform circular motion.
