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Definition 2024


centrifugal_force

centrifugal force

See also: centrifugal-force

English

Noun

centrifugal force (plural centrifugal forces)

  1. in everyday understanding, centrifugal force is the effect that tends to move an object away from the center of a circle it is rotating about (a consequence of inertia).
  2. (physics): In a rotating reference frame, the apparent force that seems to push all bodies away from the centre of rotation of the frame and is a consequence of the body's mass and the frame's angular speed. It works in conjunction with the Coriolis force to give correct motion.
  3. (physics): In circular motion, the 'reactive' centrifugal force is a real force applied by the accelerating body that is equal and opposite to the centripetal force that is acting on the accelerating body.
  4. (physics): In polar coordinates, the apparent radial force that acts away from the center and is a consequence of the body's angular speed around the origin.

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