Lesson 6: Uniform Circular Motion

Centripetal Acceleration (ac)

The acceleration of an object moving in uniform circular motion (resulting from a net external force)

Centrifuge

A rotating device used to separate specimens of different densities

Ultracentrifuge

A centrifuge optimized for spinning a rotor at very high speeds

Centripetal force

Any net force causing uniform circular motion

Banked curves

The curve in a road that is sloping in a manner that helps a vehicle negotiate the curve

Ideal banking

The net external force equals the horizontal centripetal force in the absence of friction

What is Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation?

Every particle in the universe attracts every other particle with a force along a line joining them.

How is the force in Newton's Law of Gravitation related to the masses of the particles?

The force is directly proportional to the product of their masses.

How is the force in Newton's Law of Gravitation related to the distance between the particles?

The force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Center of mass (CM)

The point where the entire mass of an object can be thought to be concentrated

Gravitational constant

G= 6.67 * 10⁻¹¹ Nm²/kg²

Microgravity

Refers to an environment in which the apparent net acceleration of a body is small compared with that produced by Earth at its surface.