Centripetal force is the force needed to make something move in a circle. Well, maybe it would be better to say that centripetal force is the force needed to make something change direction.

All of the objects in our solar system are acted upon by forces. Forces are pushes or pulls. Every force has both a strength and a direction. Applying a force on something–like pushing a toy car–can ...

Tim Peake introduces Yan Wong who explains centripetal force using a cup of water on a tray hanging from a string. Suitable for Key Stage 4, GCSE, National 4, National 5 and Higher ...

Because of the circular shape of a Ferris wheel, the acceleration in this case is called centripetal acceleration, and its direction is always toward the center of the circle.