Hi, i am having trouble understanding why centrifugal force is a “psuedo” force. Centripetal force holds an object in rotation pulling toward the centre , whereas centrifugal force is pushing the object outwards.
I have veen trying to watch videos but the examples dont really help.
For example, if im in a car going around a corner, the faster i go, the more the car wants to fly off the road.
Or if an object us on a spinning platform like a lazy susan, the faster i spin the lazy susan, the further away the object gets (until it falls off).
Is centrifugal force just the lack of centripetal force?
In: 5
Imagine you are a passenger in a car that is turning left. You feel like you are being flung to the right; away from the centre of the turn. This is the centrifugal force and it results in you being pressed hard against the right side of your seat.
Another way of looking at what is happening is that the car is accelerating to the left, and needs to bring you along with it. So the right side of your seat pushes into you and accelerates you to the left. This is the centripetal force. There is no force pushing you to the right: after all you, like the car, are accelerating left and so the net force on you must act towards the left.
The nature of reference frames matters here: the centrifugal force appears real to you in the car because you are in the reference frame of the car which is itself accelerating (a non-inertial reference frame i.e. one that is accelerating). In contrast an observer watching you from the ground (an inertial reference frame) sees only the centripetal force.
[Relevant xkcd](https://xkcd.com/123/)
Latest Answers