Noobie question! I'm thrown off that the magnitude of velocity remains constant despite acceleration being non-zero. The change in direction of velocity makes sense to me, but wouldn't the magnitude of the vector change as well?
Let v = 5 m/s and r = 1 m.
mv^2 / r = ma -> a = v^2 / r. Does this imply that with acceleration = 5^2 / 1 = 25 m/s (toward the center of a circle), that velocity will change direction (for circular motion) but not magnitude?
Let v = 5 m/s and r = 1 m.
mv^2 / r = ma -> a = v^2 / r. Does this imply that with acceleration = 5^2 / 1 = 25 m/s (toward the center of a circle), that velocity will change direction (for circular motion) but not magnitude?