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!
In: 6209
Consider a particle spun around and around in circles on a string in the horizontal plane.
You can get this effect by spinning a fully extended yoyo in circles.
The particle/yoyo continually changes direction and therefore Is accelerated and therefore has a external resultant force.
This force is the tension in the string. It is called the centripetal force. It is the ‘real’ force of the string pulling on the particle.
Now imagine you are an ant clinging of for dear life on the yoyo. You will feel an apparent force lifting you away from the rotation of the yoyo. In this frame of reference It is not a real force because it is only the effect of the yoyo pulling in whilst the ant is going in a straight line tangent to the motion of the yoyo. Even though the ant ‘feels’ it, there is no actual magical force godlike force pulling the ant away from the surface of the yoyo.
Latest Answers