Centrifugal force is called a ‘fictitious force’ by physicists as opposed to a ‘true force.’ A True Force would be Gravity or Magnetism which are present in any state or condition. A Fictitious Force (poorly named and misunderstood by some editors of school text books) is one that only exists in certain conditions, but there is nothing fictitious about them.
Centrifugal force is labeled a fictitious force because it only occurs in rotary system - a whirl of a rock on a string, or a clubhead on the end of a shaft are two examples of centrifugal force in a rotary system.
Centrifugal force is the resistance to inertia on an object trying to continue in a straight line while moving in circular motion- to move OUTWARD from the center. How did it travel in this circular motion? A force had to prevent the object from continuing in a outward straight line and pull it INWARD. This force is Centripetal Force. This force seeks to move the object TOWARD the center. Yin and Yang? Yes. They co-exist together or not at all. That complies with Newton’s third law of motion. For every motion or force there is an opposite and equal motion or force.
There has been much posted and argued about what to call this whirl of motion and one can call it whatever they want. You can recognize one of the other or both forces, but the point is that Homer Kelley called his "Centrifugal' force to teach the action of the clubhead impacting the ball without muscular force.
Hybrid Mode
