Noun
the inward force on a body moving in a curved path around another body
Source: WordNetAfter his 1679–1680 correspondence with Hooke, described below, Newton adopted the language of inward or centripetal force. Source: Internet
A centripetal force of this form causes the elliptical motion. Source: Internet
But in a frame rotating about a fixed axis, the object appears to move in a circle, and is subject to centripetal force (which is made up of the Coriolis force and the centrifugal force). Source: Internet
However, this is a rough labelling: a careful designation of the true centripetal force refers to a local reference frame that employs the directions normal and tangential to the path, not coordinates referred to the axis of rotation. Source: Internet
For nonrelativistic particles, the centripetal force required to keep them in their curved path is : where is the particle's mass, its velocity, and is the radius of the path. Source: Internet
If an instantaneous centripetal force (red arrow) is considered on the planet during its orbit, the area of the triangles defined by the path of the planet will be the same. Source: Internet