Centripetal force is the inward-pointing force that keeps an object moving along a circular path instead of flying off in a straight line — like the tension in a string swinging a ball, or a car's tires gripping a curve.
Centripetal force is the inward-pointing force that keeps an object moving along a circular path instead of flying off in a straight line — like the tension in a string swinging a ball, or a car's tires gripping a curve. This calculator finds that force from mass, speed, and the radius of the circular path.
A 0.2 kg ball swings on a string in a circle of radius 0.8 m at 4 m/s. Fc = (0.2 × 4²) / 0.8 = (0.2 × 16) / 0.8 = 4 N.
It's the force that keeps an object moving in a circular path, directed toward the center of the circle.
Centripetal force = (mass x velocity squared) divided by radius, or equivalently mass x angular velocity squared x radius.
The tension in a string when swinging a ball in a circle, or the friction between tires and road that keeps a car turning through a curve.