Is it possible to have a perfectly horizontal circular motion if the object is in the air (in the Earth)? If so, what counteracts the gravitational force acting on the object?
Technically, it is not possible to have a perfectly horizontal circular motion if the object is in the air. Like you said, due to the gravitational force pulling the object downwards, if the centripetal force is acting directly horizontally, there is no upwards force that cancels out the gravitational force, which would lead to unbalanced vertical net force and disrupt the horizontal circular motion.
So, in the real world, perfectly horizontal circular motion would not happen. If you are talking about an object in a circular motion connected to a string, you may realize that the trajectory would not be perfectly horizontal, which would allow the vertical component of tension cancel out the gravitational force.
Hi, thank you for your question.
Technically, it is not possible to have a perfectly horizontal circular motion if the object is in the air. Like you said, due to the gravitational force pulling the object downwards, if the centripetal force is acting directly horizontally, there is no upwards force that cancels out the gravitational force, which would lead to unbalanced vertical net force and disrupt the horizontal circular motion.
So, in the real world, perfectly horizontal circular motion would not happen. If you are talking about an object in a circular motion connected to a string, you may realize that the trajectory would not be perfectly horizontal, which would allow the vertical component of tension cancel out the gravitational force.
Does this answer your question?