Why is Centrifugal force “not real”? I remember my physics teacher in high school pushing that idea and understanding why back then, but I do not remember now. I also forgot so much about physics in general that a simple would be much appreciated!
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centrifugal = away from center.
When you spin an object on a string, there’s no force pushing it away. In fact, it’s the very opposite: the string is pulling on the object to keep it on a circular path. That’s the centripetal force.
Yet if you were sitting on said object, you would feel like you are being yanked away from the center. If you sat in a seat facing the center of the circle, your back would be pressed against it. And yet there’s no real force pushing you away, it’s just your momentum that’s trying to keep you moving in a straight line, and the string counteracting that by pulling. That’s why you feel like you’re being repelled towards the outside.
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