Question

what is centripetal force

Answer 1

A force that acts on any object that is moving along a circle and is directed towards the center of the circle is called centripetal force. "centripetal" means center seeking.

Answer 2

centripetal force (from Latin centrum, "center" and petere, "to seek"is a force that makes a body follow a curved path. Its direction is always orthogonal to the motion of the body and towards the fixed point of the instantaneous center of curvature of the path. Isaac Newton described it as "a force by which bodies are drawn or impelled, or in any way tend, towards a point as to a centre".[2] In Newtonian mechanics, gravity provides the centripetal force responsible for astronomical orbits.

One common example involving centripetal force is the case in which a body moves with uniform speed along a circular path. The centripetal force is directed at right angles to the motion and also along the radius towards the centre of the circular path.] The mathematical description was derived in 1659 by the Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens.