Angular Displacement & Velocity

Moving in a Circle
Rides at a theme park and trains on a railway are examples
of movement in a circle. What is needed to keep something
rotating at constant ​speed​?

The choice of term is very deliberate. In circular motion we

say that the ​speed is constant but not the velocity.
Velocity, as a vector quantity, has both magnitude and
direction. The object on a string has a constant speed but the
direction in which the object is moving is changing all the
time. The velocity has a constant magnitude but a changing
direction. If either of the two parts that make up a vector
changes, then the vector is no longer constant. Whenever​ velocity changes ​(even i it is only
the direction) then the object is ​accelerated.
Understanding the physics of this acceleration is the key to understanding circular motion.

Radians
Measuring angles in degrees becomes less useful in
advanced maths and physics, because they are
arbitrary.

Radians are used because they are multiples of π,

which is a natural number and the natural unit for
trigonometric functions.

The angle in radians, θ, is defined as the

arc-length divided by the radius.

arc−length 2Πr
For a complete circle: θ= radius
= r
= 2Π

Common degrees and radians

Angular Displacement θ
Angular displacement, θ, is the angle in radians (or degrees) through which a point has been
rotated about a specified axis.
Unlike the linear displacement used in Topic 2, angular displacement will not be considered
to be a vector in IB Physics. Angular displacement is the angle through which the object
moves and it can be measured in degrees or in radians.

Linear Velocity
Linear velocity (or tangential velocity) is the velocity of a point on a rotating object.

It is given by the equation:

Where r is the radius of the point and t is the time taken for one revolution. Units of v are
ms​-1
Angular Speed
In Topic 2 we used the term speed to mean linear
speed​. When the motion is in a circle there is an
alternative: angular speed, this is given the
symbol ω (the lowercase Greek letter, omega).

Angular speed is the rate of change of angular

displacement with respect to time.

It is given by the equation:

Where θ is the angular displacement and t is the

time taken.

Units of ω are rads​-1

Example
As the wheel rotates, the angle subtended by both red and blue points
is the same, with respect to time.

ω​red​ = ω
​ ​blue  

Angular Speed x Angular Velocity

Is angular velocity is a vector similar to linear
velocity?
The answer is that angular velocity is a vector but
an unusual one. It has a magnitude equal to the
angular speed, but its direction is along the axis of
rotation, in other words, through the centre of the
circle around which the object is moving and
perpendicular to the plane of the rotation.
The direction follows a clockwise corkscrew rule
so that in this example the direction of the angular
velocity vector is into the plane of the paper.
In the IB course, only the angular speed the
scalar quantity is used.
Period and Frequency
The time taken for the object to go round the circle once is known as the ​periodic time​ or
simply the​ period​ of the motion, it has the symbol T. In one period, the angular distance
travelled is 2𝝅 rad. So,

When T is in seconds the units of ω are radians per second, abbreviated to rad.s​-1

Another quantity that is associated with ​T​ is​ frequency.​ Frequency is the number of times an
object goes round a circle in unit time (usually taken to be 1 second), so one way to express
the unit of frequency would be in per second or s​-1​. However, the unit of frequency is
re-named after the 19th century physicist Heinrich Hertz and is abbreviated to Hz. There is a
link between T and ​f​ so that:

Linear Speed and Angular Speed

Sometimes we know the linear speed and need the angular speed or vice versa.
When the circle has a radius r the circumference is 2𝝅r, and T, is the time taken to go around

once. So the linear speed of the object along the edge of the circle v is
Centripetal Acceleration
Earlier we showed that an object moving at a constant angular speed in a circle is being
accelerated. Newton’s first law tells us that, for any object in which the direction of motion or
the speed is changing, there must be an external force acting. In circular motion the direction
is constantly changing and so the object accelerates and there must be a force acting on it to
cause this to happen. In which direction do the force and the acceleration act, and what are
their sizes?

The diagram shows two points P​1 ​ and P​2​ on the circle together with the velocity vectors v​old
and v​new​ at these points. The vectors are the same length as each other because the speed is
constant. However, v​old​ and v​new​ point in different directions because the object has moved
round the circle by an angular distance Δθ between P​1​ and P​2​. Acceleration is, as usual,

The change in velocity is the change-of-velocity vector Δv that has to be added to v​old​ in
order to make it become the same length and direction as v​new​. Identify these vectors on the
diagram.
Acceleration Expressions

Centripetal x Angular

Angular acceleration separates itself from the others:

1) Because it is an angular quantity, whereas the other two are linear quantities.
2) Because angular acceleration applies to the whole rigid object, however, centripetal
acceleration are for a specific radius.

Another major difference between angular acceleration and centripetal acceleration is that
circular motion cannot exist without centripetal acceleration.
• No centripetal acceleration means the object is not moving in a circle.
o Centripetal acceleration results from the change in direction of the tangential
velocity. If the tangential velocity is not changing directions, then the object is not
moving in a circle.
• An object can move in a circle and not have any tangential acceleration. No tangential
acceleration simply means the angular acceleration of the object is zero and the object is
moving with a constant angular velocity.
Centripetal Force

If a body moves in a circle, there must be a net force acting on the body, since it is
accelerating. If the speed is constant, the direction of the acceleration is towards the centre of
the circle and therefore that is also the direction of the net force. It is a ​centripetal force.​ Its
magnitude is given by:

Newton’s 2nd Law states:

Consider a car moving on a circular level road of radius r with constant speed v. Friction
between the wheels and the road provides the necessary force directed towards the centre of
the circle that enables the car to take the turn (Figure 6.7). Note that in this example it is
friction that provides the centripetal force. However, this does not mean that friction is always
a centripetal force – it only applies to the case when the resulting motion is circular.

It is important to note that, since a centripetal force is at right angles to the direction of
motion, ​the work done by the force is zero​. (Recall that W = Fscosθ , and here the angle is
a right angle.)
It is a common mistake in circular motion problems to include a force pushing the body away
from the centre of the circle: a centrifugal force.​ It is important to stress that no such force
exists. ​A body in circular motion cannot be in equilibrium and so no force pushing away from
the centre is required.

Centripetal Acceleration and Forces in Action

Satellites in Orbit
Why do they follow these paths? Gravitational forces act between the centre of mass of the
Earth and the centre of mass of the satellite. The direction of the force acting on the satellite
is always towards the centre of the planet and it is the gravity that supplies the centripetal
force.
Amusement park rides
Many amusement park rides take their passengers in curved paths that are all or part of a
circle. How does circular motion provide a thrill?
In the type of ride shown in figure 10, the people are inside a drum that rotates about a
vertical axis. When the rotation speed is large enough the people are forced to the sides of
the drum and the floor drops away. The people are quite safe however because they are held
against the inside of the drum as the reaction at the wall provides the centripetal force to
keep them moving in the circle. The people in the ride feel the reaction between their spine
and the wall. Friction between the rider and the wall prevents the rider from slipping down the
wall.

Turning car
For a horizontal road surface, the friction acting between the tyres and the road becomes the
centripetal force. The friction force is related to the coefficient of friction and the normal
reaction at the surface where friction occurs.
If the car is not to skid, the centripetal force required has to be less than the frictional force

and if we rearrange that, we get that