Question

A stone tied to a string is revolved in a horizontal circle. What will happen if the string suddenly breaks?

Answer 1

1. When a stone is going around a circular path, the instantaneous velocity of stone is acting as tangent to the circle.
2. When the string breaks, the centripetal force stops to act.
3. Due to inertia, the stone continues to move along the tangent to circular path.
4. So, the stone flies off tangentially to the circular path.