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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.
This peculiarity of these forces led to the names inertial forces, pseudo-forces or fictitious forces. In particular, fictitious forces did not appear at all in some frames: those frames differing from that of the fixed stars by only a constant velocity. In short, a frame tied to the "fixed stars" is merely a member of the class of "inertial ...
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. Both forces can point downwards, yet the object will remain in a circular path without falling down.
This reaction force is sometimes described as a centrifugal inertial reaction, [44] [45] that is, a force that is centrifugally directed, which is a reactive force equal and opposite to the centripetal force that is curving the path of the mass. The concept of the reactive centrifugal force is sometimes used in mechanics and engineering.
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 ...
A fictitious force is a force that appears to act on a mass whose motion is described using a non-inertial frame of reference, such as a linearly accelerating or rotating reference frame. [1] Fictitious forces are invoked to maintain the validity and thus use of Newton's second law of motion, in frames of reference which are not inertial. [2]
For illustration, the first term on the left-hand side is zero for circular orbits, and the applied inwards force equals the centripetal force requirement, as expected. If L is not zero the definition of angular momentum allows a change of independent variable from t {\displaystyle t} to θ {\displaystyle \theta }
The forces at play in the case of a planet with an equatorial bulge due to rotation. Red arrow: gravity Green arrow: the normal force Blue arrow: the resultant force The resultant force provides required centripetal force. Without this centripetal force frictionless objects would slide towards the equator.