TYPES OF FORCEApplication of Newton's LawsCP-04 Page 20Rev. 0Figure 11 Centrifugal ForceFigure 12 Loss of Centripetal ForceCentrifugalForceAnother force, which appearsto be opposite the direction ofmotion, is the centrifugal forceacting on an object that followsa curved path. This forceappears to be a force directedaway from the center of thecircular path. This is actually afictitious force, but is anapparent force that is used todescribe the forces present dueto an object's rotation.To better understandcentripetal and centrifugalforces, consider that a string isattached to the plane in Figure10. As the plane rotates about the center, the string places a centripetal force on the plane. Thiscauses the plane's velocity to change in direction, thus causing it to travel in a circle.The apparent outward force,centrifugal force, seems to pullthe plane away from the centershown in Figure 11. This is thesame apparent outward forceone feels when riding in a carwhen the car travels in a circle.It can be proven thatcentrifugal force is not anactual force by cutting thestring. In doing so, the planewill fly off in a straight line thatis tangent to the circle at thevelocity it had the moment thestring was cut. If there were anactual centrifugal force present,the plane would not fly away ina line tangent to the circle, butwould fly directly away fromthe circle (see Figure 12).
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