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A centripetal force (from Latin centrum, "center" and petere, "to seek" [1]) is a force that makes a body follow a curved path.The direction of the centripetal force is always orthogonal to the motion of the body and towards the fixed point of the instantaneous center of curvature of the path.
The net acceleration may be resolved into two components: tangential acceleration and centripetal acceleration. Unlike tangential acceleration, centripetal acceleration is present in both uniform and non-uniform circular motion. This diagram shows the normal force (n) pointing in other directions rather than opposite to the weight force.
are called the tangential acceleration and the normal or radial acceleration (or centripetal acceleration in circular motion, see also circular motion and centripetal force), respectively. Geometrical analysis of three-dimensional space curves, which explains tangent, (principal) normal and binormal, is described by the Frenet–Serret formulas ...
[note 9] The force required to sustain this acceleration, called the centripetal force, is therefore also directed toward the center of the circle and has magnitude /. Many orbits, such as that of the Moon around the Earth, can be approximated by uniform circular motion.
There are two main descriptions of motion: dynamics and kinematics.Dynamics is general, since the momenta, forces and energy of the particles are taken into account. In this instance, sometimes the term dynamics refers to the differential equations that the system satisfies (e.g., Newton's second law or Euler–Lagrange equations), and sometimes to the solutions to those equations.
Transverse acceleration (perpendicular to velocity) causes a change in direction. If it is constant in magnitude and changing in direction with the velocity, circular motion ensues. Taking two derivatives of the particle's coordinates concerning time gives the centripetal acceleration
This inward acceleration is called centripetal acceleration, it requires a centripetal force to maintain the circular motion. This force is exerted by the ground upon the wheels, in this case, from the friction between the wheels and the road. [21] The car is accelerating, due to the unbalanced force, which causes it to move in a circle.
Centripetal force causes the acceleration measured on the rotating surface of the Earth to differ from the acceleration that is measured for a free-falling body: the apparent acceleration in the rotating frame of reference is the total gravity vector minus a small vector toward the north–south axis of the Earth, corresponding to staying ...