Question

Give two applications of centrifugal force.

Answer 1

The centrifugal force is a force experienced by a rotating object. It is always directed away from the axis of rotation. Give a thought on centrifugal force and wonder where you see this force acting in daily life.

Complete answer:
Consider the drier of the washing machine. The wet clothes are put in a drier in order to dry them. The drier has a cylindrical vessel with perforated walls. As the button is pushed, the drier starts to rotate. As the drier rotates, an outward force acts on the wet clothes which is the centrifugal force. This force is acted on the water molecules trapped in the clothes and forces them to escape through the holes of the cylindrical wall. This helps us to dry our clothes faster. However not all the molecules are removed, but still it has made the process of drying easy for us.
Consider another example of a centrifuge. A centrifuge is a machine that separates the parts of liquid. The container inside the centrifuge is rotated with high speed which separates the particles having different densities. The particles having high density relative to others move radially outwards and are collected to the rightmost part of the container.

Additional Information:
The centrifugal force is also called a pseudo force. The source of the force is inertia. The body wants to keep moving if no force is applied on it without change in speed. The centrifugal force appears when the centripetal force tries to change the direction.

Note:
Remember that centrifugal force is not a real force, but it is used to calculate the resultant force. It is a fictitious force that drags the object away from the centre. The centrifugal force is equal and opposite to the centripetal force. The magnitude of the centrifugal force is given by ${F_C} = \dfrac{{m{v^2}}}{r}$.