centripetal force

     

The centripetal force is the external force require to make a body follow a curved path. Hence centripetal force is a force requirement, not a particular kind of force, like gravity or electromagnetic force. Newton's description is found in the Principia. Many different examples are examined, one being the following:

Trivia about centripetal force

  • It's the inward force that a string exerts on a ball whirling on the end of it
  • (Jimmy of the Clue Crew performs a physics demonstration.) When I swing a bucket of water, it doesn't spill, because of this force that pulls it in the center and keeps it from following its path of inertia
  • The name of this force that can compel an object to move in a circular path is from the Latin for "seek the center"

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