centrifugal force

Meaning

Noun

• In everyday understanding, the effect that tends to move an object away from the center of a circle it is rotating about (a consequence of inertia).
• In a rotating reference frame, the apparent force that seems to push all bodies away from the centre of rotation of the frame and is a consequence of the body's mass and the frame's angular speed. It works in conjunction with the Coriolis force to give correct motion.
• In circular motion, the 'reactive' centrifugal force is a real force applied by the accelerating body that is equal and opposite to the centripetal force that is acting on the accelerating body.
• In polar coordinates, the apparent radial force that acts away from the center and is a consequence of the body's angular speed around the origin.

Origin

• From New Latin coined by Christiaan Huygens From Latin centrum + fugiō -al,