Centripetal Acceleration
BINAS 35A3Tsokos Ch. 6.1
Overview
An object moving in a circle at constant speed is continuously changing direction — so its velocity vector changes, which means it IS accelerating. The centripetal acceleration always points toward the centre of the circle: a_c = v²/r = ω²r. 'Centripetal' means 'centre-seeking'. Because a_c is perpendicular to v at all times, it changes direction not speed.