Centripetal Force
Centripetal force is the force required to move a body uniformly in a circle. This force acts along the radius and is directed towards the center of the circle.
When a body moves in a circle, its direction of motion at any instant is along the tangent to the circle at that instant. As shown in figure, the direction of velocity of the body goes in changing continuously and due to this change, there is an acceleration called the centripetal acceleration given as, a = v2/ r = r. ω2
Where v is linear velocity, ω is angular velocity of the body, and r is radius of the circular path.
As F = m. a, centripetal force is
F = mass * acceleration
= mv2/r = m. r. ω2
And this force acts along the radius and is directed towards the center of the circle.
Centrifugal force
The outward force experienced on a body when it changes its direction is called centrifugal force.
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