Centrifugal force: physical reality or an illusion?

I’m almost certain that the famous apple that hit Isaac Newton did not fall from the apple tree, but was thrown at him because it cast doubt on the trust we place in our senses. Our need to name the feelings that affect us often causes confusion.

Newton’s apple is just a myth, as is a common misconception that expresses the characteristic feeling felt when a vehicle makes a sharp turn: centrifugal force. But how can something that gives the name of the equipment and “kick” you out of Gira-Gira be fake? Take your inertial reference frame, a curve, and Newton’s Laws, let’s remember physics classes.

hold the curve

The answer to the absence of centrifugal force begins to be explained when we remember Newton’s first law. The principle of inertia tells us that every object will remain in its state of rest or uniform linear motion. is forced to change state unless a force is applied to it.

When we apply this principle to objects moving in a curvilinear trajectory that obeys the assumption of inertia, a resulting force called centripetal is “born.” Centripetal force is a net force pointing towards the middle of the curved path.

In an interview with TecMundo, Nestor Saavedra Filho, Professor of Physics at the Federal University of Technology in Paranáuses the example of a turning car to illustrate the resulting force.

According to Nestor Saavedra Filho, “When a car takes a turn on a highway, for example, it breaks away from its linear motion. According to Newton’s First Law, this is only possible if there is another force that forces it to make the bend. Therefore, physically, this force is represented by the friction force between the tires and the asphalt.” Since the centripetal force is a resultant, the only force that forces the car to turn is the resulting centripetal force.

The faster the car goes, the greater the feeling of being pushed out of the corner. This is where the legend was born.

A physical illusion

“Centrifugal force” is not a force opposing the centripetal force, but rather our body obeying Newton’s first law. “Every body will remain in its state of rest or uniform linear motion.”

Compliance with Newton’s First Law is also observed when the car suddenly brakes or accelerates. As the vehicle is subjected to the initial force, you may feel yourself being thrown forward or your back hitting the seat.

Saavedra further explains: “To make this clear, we need to imagine that we are seeing the situation from outside the car. If we do not do this and only think about the event from inside the car, we experience a feeling and not a force“We are being thrown in the opposite direction of the vehicle’s movement.”

No other force acts, we simply experience one of the best-known laws of physics in our own body.

Going off on a tangent

If we generalize to household appliances and devices called centrifuges, we know that they are wonderful and very functional, as the concept of “centrifugal” or “decentralized”. Even if there is no force The centrifugation process is used for a variety of purposes, from home appliances to clinical analyzers..

Note, however, that this is a noun that denotes something triggered by the tendency that objects have to keep their orbits in a straight line, not a force opposing the centripetal resultant.

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