The key difference between centripetal and centrifugal acceleration is that centripetal acceleration occurs due to the force acting towards the centre of the circle that an object traces, whereas centrifugal acceleration occurs due to the force acting outward the centre of the circle that an object traces.
Centripetal and centrifugal acceleration are properties of objects that are related to objects having a circular motion.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Centripetal Acceleration
3. What is Centrifugal Acceleration
4. Side by Side Comparison – Centripetal vs Centrifugal Acceleration in Tabular Form
5. Summary
What is Centripetal Acceleration?
Centripetal acceleration is a property of a moving body that is traversing through a circular path. This acceleration is directed radially towards the centre of the circle of this circular path. The magnitude of centripetal acceleration is equal to the square of the body’s speed, which occurs along the curve divided by the distance from the centre of the circle to the moving body. The force that causes the centripetal acceleration is named centripetal force and it is directed towards the centre of this circular path.
When an object traces along a circular path, its trajectory constantly changes at every instant throughout this circular motion. However, an object can feel centripetal acceleration even when it is tracing an arc or a circle at a constant velocity.
Figure 01: Centripetal Force
When considering each point of the circular path through which the object is moving, there are two accelerations that are perpendicular to each other; centripetal acceleration that is directed towards the centre/inward acceleration and linear acceleration directed immediately forward of the body/outward acceleration.
According to Newton’s law, a body in acceleration has its acceleration in the same direction as the force applied on that object to move.
What is Centrifugal Acceleration?
Centrifugal acceleration is a property of a circularly moving object, and it is directed outward to the circular path. This acceleration occurs due to the centrifugal force.
Figure 02: Centrifugal Force
Centrifugal force is an inertial force that apparently acts on all objects when viewed in a rotating frame of references.
What are the Similarities Between Centripetal and Centrifugal Acceleration?
- Both are properties of circularly moving objects.
- These accelerations occur due to an applied external force.
What is the Difference Between Centripetal and Centrifugal Acceleration?
Centripetal acceleration is a property of a moving body that is traversing through a circular path, while the centrifugal acceleration is a property of a circularly moving object, and it is direct outward the circular path. The key difference between centripetal and centrifugal acceleration is that centripetal acceleration occurs due to the force acting towards the centre of the circle that an object traces, whereas centrifugal acceleration occurs due to the force acting outward the centre of the circle that an object traces.
Summary – Centripetal vs Centrifugal Acceleration
Centripetal and centrifugal acceleration are properties of objects that are related to the objects having a circular motion. The key difference between centripetal and centrifugal acceleration is that centripetal acceleration occurs due to the force acting towards the centre of the circle that an object traces, whereas centrifugal acceleration occurs due to the force acting outward the centre of the circle that an object traces.
Reference:
1. “Centrifugal Acceleration.” Centrifugal Acceleration – an Overview | ScienceDirect Topics, Available here.
2. “What Are Centripetal Acceleration And Centrifugal Force? ” Science ABC.” Science ABC, 28 Oct. 2018, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Centripetal force diagram” By User:Booyabazooka – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Forces on fluid in a centrifugal microfluidic device” By O. Strohmeier, M. Keller, F. Schwemmer, S. Zehnle, D. Mark, F. von Stetten, R. Zengerle and N. Paust – Strohmeier, O., et al. “Centrifugal microfluidic platforms: advanced unit operations and applications” Chemical Society Reviews 44.17 (2015): 6187-6229. (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
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