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Question: Physics question - centripetal vs. centrifugal force?

(Posted by: emeraldcityserendipity on 2009-06-12 21:21:24)

Why is it centripetal force that pulls objects to the side as they go around a curve and not centrifugal (which doesn't exist) force? I've never understood that.

Posted by: Randy P on 2009-06-12, 21:32:59

The natural tendency is to go in a straight line. In order to maintain a curve, something must pull the path inward toward the center of the curve. A force which does that is called a centripetal force.

Posted by: Sophisticated Rodent on 2009-06-12, 23:10:04

Think of it like this. The centripetal is the cause (string), and the centrifugal is the effect. The contents of a can at the end of the string experience centrifugal force, which is "feeling " the pressure which holds you or the contents in the can. The cause is two laws of motion working simultaneously. The first one is the velocity of the can and contents traveling in a "straight " path. The second is the string altering the course of that path.

Posted by: cebee on 2009-06-12, 23:25:08

Centripetal Force: According to Newton's first law of motion,a body must continue to move with a uniform velocity in a straight line,unless acted upon by a force.It follows,therefore,that when a body moves along a Circle , some force is acting upon it, which continually deflects it from its straight or linear path;and since the body has an acceleration towards its centre,it is obvious that the force must also be acting in the direction of this acceleration,that is , along the radius,or towards the centre of its circular path.It is called the centripetal force. Centrifugal Force; The equal and opposite reaction to the centripetal force is called centrifugal force,because it tends to take the body away from the centre.Centripetal force and centrifugal force being just action and reaction in the sense of Newton's third law of motion,the numerical value of the two are the same. example; in the case of a stone,whirled round at the end of a string whose other end is held in the hand, the centripetal force is supplied by the tension of the string which is acting along the string towards the centre,but the stone also exerts an equal and opposite force,(centrifugal force),on the hand away from the centre,also along the string.