When a stone is released from uniform circular motion, it continues to move along a straight line tangent to the circular path because it retains the direction of motion it had at that instant. This is due to the principle of inertia, which states that an object in motion will continue to move in a straight line at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force.
Why does a stone released from circular motion move along a straight line tangent to the circle?
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When a stone is released from circular motion, it moves along a straight line tangent to the circle due to inertia and the absence of a force acting on it in the direction perpendicular to the tangent line.
Inertia, as described by Newton’s first law of motion, states that an object in motion will remain in motion in a straight line at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force.
In the case of the stone released from circular motion, once it is no longer constrained by a centripetal force keeping it in the circular path, it continues to move tangentially due to its inertia. There is no force acting on it perpendicular to the tangent line to change its direction, so it moves in a straight line along that tangent.