A couple of commenters expressed concern over the use of centrifugal force after my rant on the use of the word force. So, what is the deal with these two terms? Are they ok to use? Are they real ...

If a body rotates around an axis other than the one at its own center of mass, it exerts an outward force upon anything that keeps it from going in a straight line. This is the definition ...

When humanity first started studying motion, circles posed a peculiar puzzle. Why do planets sweep endlessly around the Sun without flying off into the void of space? Why does a stone swung on a ...

Learn the key differences between centripetal and centrifugal force in this clear and engaging physics tutorial! Understand how centripetal force keeps objects moving in a circular path, while ...

In this post, I am going to talk about real and not-real forces, like the fake centrifugal force. (If you don't like the word fake you could replace that with fictitious.) First, an example: Suppose ...