Question

what is the difference between centripetal acceleration and centrifugal acceleration ?
I will give a medal

Answer 1

a body while moving in a circular path or having a circular motion is acted upon by a force which is always directed towards cente of circle.this is known as centripetal force

Answer 2

i agree with @conain007

Answer 3

Thanks

Answer 4

the pseudo force thats comes into play to counterattack the centripetal force is centrifugal force

Answer 5

There is no such thing as centrifugal force.

To make a body move in a circle it is acted upon by a force directed TOWARDS the centre - i.e. centripetal force.

The body IS accelerating towards the centre - even though its motion is always tangential.

This question is very misleading in as much as it leads you to consider 'centrifugal' force as a viable option. You should always look at circular motion and consider what force is acting to make the body move in a circle - this will always be 'centripetal' force.

Answer 6

its the same thing but we ususally call it centripetal force.

Answer 7

Acceleration can never be centrifugal.

Answer 8

@Emma2797

It really is not a good thing to consider them the same, and it is confusing to talk about it as if they were equivalent.

The 'perceived' force we feel when we are on a centrifuge or carousel is simply the 'reaction' to the force which is acting TOWARDS the centre.

IF you have a text book, coursework or teacher that asks you to discuss 'centrifugal' then I suggest you change it! :-)

Answer 9

most questions of motion and dynamics are best dealt with using 'free body diagrams' which isolate the forces acting on a body.

In circular motion there is only the resultant centripetal force. You cannot draw a centrifugal force on the diagram and solve the motion equations.

Answer 10

@MrNood @thingS @conain007 If you spin the object at the end of the string fast enough the string will break. How do you explain this?

Answer 11

the force required to make th eobject follow th ecircular path is mrw^2

(w = omega = angular vlelocity)

This force is 'tension' in the string.

as w increases so tension increases.

NOTE - the tension in th estring is 'pulling' the mass TOWARDS the centre.

All strings/cords/rods etc have a maximum tension before breaking. When the required force exceeds this - the string breaks. The mass then has NO centripetal force acting on it, so it moves in a straight line TANGENTIAL to its position when th estring broke.

Note - it does not move radially - there is no force or motion in the outward radial direction.

Answer 12

@MrNood @thingS @conain007 Why does the string feel like it is pulling my hand toward the object that I am spinning? Say, Reaction.

Answer 13

Because you exert a force on the string, the string must exert a force on you.

BUT - it is the body that is moving in a circle - and the tension in the string acts on the body TOWARDS you - i.e. centripetally

Answer 14

If for instance your father swings you in a circle as a child, you feel that he is PULLING on your arms

Answer 15

@MrNood @thingS @conain007 And He feels like I am pulling on his arms. Can you say Reaction?

Answer 16

But the force ACTING ON YOU is the pull towards him to make oyu travel in a circle.

Each force has a REACTION (is that what oyu wanted) so you pull on him equally - BUT he is not moving in a circle - so this is not a cenrtrifugal force

Answer 17

@MrNood @thingS @conain007 So how do you define centrifugal force?

Answer 18

As I said above - I DON'T.

I believe it is a confusing historic term which in nearly all circumstances should never be mentioned in Physics.

The free body diagram requires centripetal force
Newton's second law requires centripetal force.
There IS no centrifugal force.

Answer 19

The force acted by the child on the father is centrifugal, but it is not an inertial centrifugal force.

Too often, these texts use "centrifugal force" where they should use "inertial centrifugal force".
Inertial centrifugal force is a mathematical ad-hoc fictitious force allowing you to work out Newton's second law in a non-inertial frame of reference.
In static situations, it can be ignored and the problem solved in the inertial frame, but in out-of-equilibrium situations, it is of great help, because although fictitious, you can use the moment and the work provided by this force.

Answer 20

@MrNood @conain007 Vincent-Lyon.Fr
I agree the term centrifugal force need not and should not be discussed in a introductory Physics course. But it must be discussed if the students wonder when placed in a centrifuge why they are (seem) pressed against the wall. It certainly would feel real. Having taught students that they can measure a force with a spring balance if you put one between the wall and the student it will measure a force as if toward the wall. So someone told them that it is centrifugal force what do you tell them? What is the student to think?

The original question referred to acceleration not force. This could have been a rephrasing of the original question, or not. Obviously you cannot demonstrate (calculate)an acceleration due to an outward "Centrifugal" force.

Fictitious or imaginary fabricated, or whatever you want to call it if you spin the centrifuge fast enough the student will be "squished". And oppositely because of the Earth's rotation the weight of object is about 0.3% lighter . Again because the weight is reduced as if being supported by some "force" what is the student to think?

Perhaps a look at a situation as the Olympic hammer throw. ( Remember the hammer is a metal ball swung in a circle by a spinning athlete and released to see how far he/she can throw it.) From the view of the athlete the ball rises only vertically since no translational motions is apparent. What causes this rise? If it is a force where did it come from? It had to be an upward force but where is its source? What we see is not always what we have.

In studying rotating coordinate systems as the student will learn though the Coriolis force , and Centrifugal force have their place in Physics. Real? not in terms originally conceived, not a contact force not a "field" force (are fields imaginary , mathmatical objects introduced for convenience or are they real phyisical things?). But they are apparently acting like real forces for they do account for accelerations and can rightfully be referred to as forces.

Answer 21

What everyone else said ... centrifugal force is often referred to as a fictitious force. In an accelerated frame of reference one imagines a centrifugal force, but it doesn't really exist. We rely on our understanding of inertia to conjure up the apparent force that seems to be acting.