OBJECT: To determine empirically the functional relationship of the centripetal force (a) to the mass of the moving body, (b) to its tangential velocity and (c) to the radius of the circular arc in which the mass moves.
METHOD: The centripetal force acting on a pendulum bob, when the bob passes across its rest position, is measured directly with an equal arm balance. Data are taken to show how this force is dependent on the mass of the bob, on the radius of the arc, and on the tangential velocity of the bob. The centripetal force equation is derived from these data and the graphs are drawn.
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OBJECT: To make a study of the motion of a body traveling with constant speed in a circular path, and to verify the expression for centripetal force.
METHOD: By means of an electrically driven rotator a body of known mass is rotated about a vertical axis in such away as to produce a definite extension of a spiral spring. From the mass of the body, the radius of the circular path, and the speed of rotation, the centripetal force is computed and compared with the gravitational force necessary to produce the same extension of the spring.
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