Unit 2 · Force and Translational Dynamics

Chapter 2.6

Circular Motion and Circular Orbits

Nothing pushes you outward on a spinning ride; the wall pushes inward and your body just tries to go straight. The same fact fixes the length of a planet's year.

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By the end

  1. 01Compute centripetal acceleration and identify which forces supply it in vertical loops, conical pendulums, and frictionless banked curves
  2. 02Separate the centripetal and tangential parts of acceleration when speed changes along a circle
  3. 03Use period and frequency, and derive the period–radius law for a circular orbit from gravitation

In unit 2

  1. 2.1Systems, the Center of Mass, and Free-Body Diagrams
  2. 2.2Newton's Third Law, Tension, and Equilibrium
  3. 2.3Newton's Second Law and Connected Systems
  4. 2.4Gravitation, Weight, and Apparent Weight
  5. 2.5Friction and Spring Forces
  6. 2.6Circular Motion and Circular Orbits
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