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Centripetal Force |
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centripetal force
a force that acts inwards on any body that rotates or moves along a curved path and is directed towards the centre of curvature of the path or the axis of rotation centripetal force [‚sen′trip·əd·əl ′fȯrs] (mechanics) The radial force required to keep a particle or object moving in a circular path, which can be shown to be directed toward the center of the circle. Centripetal force The inward force required to keep a particle or an object moving in a circular path. It can be shown that a particle moving in a circular path has an acceleration toward the center of the circle along a radius. See Acceleration This radial acceleration, called the centripetal acceleration, is such that, if a particle has a linear or tangential velocity v when moving in a circular path of radius R, the centripetal acceleration is v2/R. If the particle undergoing the centripetal acceleration has a mass M, then by Newton's second law of motion the centripetal force FC is in the direction of the acceleration. This is expressed by the equation below, ![]() Centripetal Force the force that acts on a mass point in the direction of the principal normal to the point’s trajectory and is directed toward the center of curvature. If the point moves in a circle, the centripetal force is directed toward the center of the circle. Numerically, the centripetal force that acts on a point of mass m moving with a velocity v is equal to mv2/ρ, where ρ is the radius of curvature of the point’s trajectory. Under the action of a centripetal force, the motion of a free mass point is curvilinear. During rectilinear motion, the centripetal force is equal to zero. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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