Editing Centripetal force (section)

{{Short description|Force directed to the center of rotation}}
{{Distinguish|text = [[Centrifugal force]]. For other meanings of "centripetal", see [[Centripetal (disambiguation)]]}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
[[File:Force acting as centripetal force.svg|thumb|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.]]
{{Classical mechanics|rotational}}

'''Centripetal force''' (from [[Latin]] ''centrum'', "center" and ''petere'', "to seek"<ref>{{cite book |title=A new universal etymological, technological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language: embracing all terms used in art, science, and literature, Volume 1 |first1=John |last1=Craig |publisher=Harvard University |year=1849 |page=291 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0nxBAAAAYAAJ}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=0nxBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA291 Extract of page 291]</ref>) is the [[force]] that makes a body follow a curved [[trajectory|path]]. The direction of the centripetal force is always [[orthogonality|orthogonal]] to the motion of the body and towards the fixed point of the instantaneous [[osculating circle|center of curvature]] of the path. [[Isaac Newton]] coined the term,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brackenridge |first=John Bruce |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ovOTK7X_mMkC&pg=PA74 |title=The Key to Newton's Dynamics: The Kepler Problem and the Principia |date=1996 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-91685-2 |location= |pages=74}}</ref> describing it as "a force by which bodies are drawn or impelled, or in any way tend, towards a point as to a centre".<ref>{{cite book |last=Newton |first=Isaac |title=The Principia: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy |publisher=Snowball Pub. |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-60796-240-3 |location=[S.l.] |pages=10}}</ref> In [[Newtonian mechanics]], gravity provides the centripetal force causing astronomical [[orbit]]s.

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.<ref name=Hibbeler>{{cite book |title=Engineering Mechanics: Dynamics |author=Russelkl C Hibbeler |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tOFRjXB-XvMC&pg=PA131 |page=131 |chapter=Equations of Motion: Normal and tangential coordinates |isbn=978-0-13-607791-6 |year=2009 |edition=12 |publisher=Prentice Hall}}</ref><ref name=Tipler0>{{cite book |title=Physics for scientists and engineers |page=129 |author1=Paul Allen Tipler |author2=Gene Mosca |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2HRFckqcBNoC&pg=PA129 |isbn=978-0-7167-8339-8 |edition=5th |publisher=Macmillan |year=2003 |access-date=4 November 2020 |archive-date=7 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007055646/https://books.google.com/books?id=2HRFckqcBNoC&pg=PA129#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> The mathematical description was derived in 1659 by the Dutch physicist [[Christiaan Huygens]].<ref>
{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d04Cax7KMfcC&pg=PA194 |title=Theoretical and Applied Mechanics |publisher=Elsevier |year=2012 |isbn=9780444600202 |editor1=P. Germain |pages=194 |editor2=M. Piau |editor3=D. Caillerie}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=What You Need to Know About Centripetal Force |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-centripetal-force-4120804 |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=ThoughtCo |language=en}}</ref>