Not to be confused with Centrifugal force. For other meanings of "centripetal", see Centripetal (disambiguation).
A particle is disturbed from its uniform linear motion by a series of short kicks (1, 2, …), giving its trajectory a nearly circular shape. The force is referred to as a centripetal force in the limit of a continuously acting force directed towards the center of curvature of the path.
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A centripetal force (from Latin centrum, "center" and petere, "to seek"[1]) is a force that makes a body follow a curved path. The direction of the centripetal force is always orthogonal to the motion of the body and towards the fixed point of the instantaneous center of curvature of the path. Isaac Newton described it as "a force by which bodies are drawn or impelled, or in any way tend, towards a point as to a centre".[2] In Newtonian mechanics, gravity provides the centripetal force causing astronomical orbits.
One common example involving centripetal force is the case in which a body moves with uniform speed along a circular path. The centripetal force is directed at right angles to the motion and also along the radius towards the centre of the circular path.[3][4] The mathematical description was derived in 1659 by the Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens.[5]
^Craig, John (1849). A new universal etymological, technological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language: embracing all terms used in art, science, and literature, Volume 1. Harvard University. p. 291. Extract of page 291
^Newton, Isaac (2010). The principia : mathematical principles of natural philosophy. [S.l.]: Snowball Pub. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-60796-240-3.
^Russelkl C Hibbeler (2009). "Equations of Motion: Normal and tangential coordinates". Engineering Mechanics: Dynamics (12 ed.). Prentice Hall. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-13-607791-6.
^Paul Allen Tipler; Gene Mosca (2003). Physics for scientists and engineers (5th ed.). Macmillan. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-7167-8339-8.
^
P. Germain; M. Piau; D. Caillerie, eds. (2012). Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. Elsevier. ISBN 9780444600202.
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