Work out circular motion instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
Motion in a circle at constant speed still involves acceleration, because the direction keeps changing. That acceleration points inward with magnitude v^2/r, and the force needed is m v^2/r. A 2 kg mass at 8 m/s on a 4 m radius needs 32 N inward, supplied by whatever is doing the holding - string tension, friction or gravity.
Centripetal acceleration
a = v^2 / r
Centripetal force
F = m v^2 / r
Not in an inertial frame. What you feel is your own inertia resisting the inward push; the only real force acts towards the centre.
The body leaves along the tangent, not radially outward - Newton's first law taking over the instant the constraint is removed.