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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 SI unit of force is the newton (symbol N), which is the force required to accelerate a one kilogram mass at a rate of one meter per second squared, or kg·m·s −2.The corresponding CGS unit is the dyne, the force required to accelerate a one gram mass by one centimeter per second squared, or g·cm·s −2. A newton is thus equal to ...
The "reactive centrifugal force" discussed in this article is not the same thing as the centrifugal pseudoforce, which is usually what is meant by the term "centrifugal force". Reactive centrifugal force, being one-half of the reaction pair together with centripetal force, is a concept which applies in any reference frame.
The normal force is actually the sum of the radial and tangential forces. The component of weight force is responsible for the tangential force (when we neglect friction). The centripetal force is due to the change in the direction of velocity. The normal force and weight may also point in the same direction.
The angular momentum equation can be used to relate the moment of the resultant force on a body about an axis (sometimes called torque), and the rate of rotation about that axis. Torque and angular momentum are related according to =, just as F = dp/dt in linear dynamics. In the absence of an external torque, the angular momentum of a body ...
Tension is the pulling or stretching force transmitted axially along an object such as a string, rope, chain, rod, truss member, or other object, so as to stretch or pull apart the object. In terms of force, it is the opposite of compression. Tension might also be described as the action-reaction pair of forces acting at each end of an object.
In physics, Hooke's law is an empirical law which states that the force (F) needed to extend or compress a spring by some distance (x) scales linearly with respect to that distance—that is, F s = kx, where k is a constant factor characteristic of the spring (i.e., its stiffness), and x is small compared to the total possible deformation of the spring.
Therefore, it cancels out the ubiquitous centrifugal force found in the first example, and goes a step further to provide exactly the centripetal force demanded by uniform circular motion, so the rotating observer calculates there is no need for tension in the string − the Coriolis force looks after everything.