Centrifugal and Centripetal Force

Centrifugal force and centripetal force are used to describe what happens when objects travel along a curve or a circle. As a car travels around a curve, the tires supply the friction to keep the car traveling along the curve.

This is called centripetal force or center-seeking force. If you twirl a ball on a string and then let go of the string the ball travels in a straight line away from the circle. This line is said to be tangent to the curve.

Spinning or “spin stabilization” keeps objects from wobbling. This allows a spinning football to remain stable in flight. A spinning top remains stationary until it slows down. A spinning gyroscope resists any effort to change its location or rotation. Gyroscopes are used in navigation equipment and vehicles that require stabilization.

A flywheel is similar to a gyroscope. It is a heavy spinning cylinder used to store mechanical energy. Rotational kinetic energy can be stored in a flywheel.