Centripetal Force Calculator
Calculate the centripetal force needed to keep an object moving in a circle.
Assumptions used in this calculation
- Uniform circular motion: Assumes constant speed along a circular path (uniform circular motion), not an accelerating or elliptical path.
About this calculator
Anything moving in a circle, a car rounding a curve, a ball on a string, a satellite in orbit, is constantly accelerating toward the center of that circle even at a steady speed, and the inward force needed to keep it there depends on mass, speed and radius in a way that isn't a simple multiplication. This calculator computes centripetal force from an object's mass, its velocity, and the radius of its circular path, using F = m × v² ÷ r. Because velocity is squared in the formula, doubling speed quadruples the required force, a relationship that's easy to underestimate without actually running the numbers, which matters directly for real questions like how much friction a tire needs to hold a turn at a given speed. Centripetal force isn't a distinct physical force of its own, it's whatever net inward force (tension, gravity, friction, normal force) happens to be acting, so this calculator tells you how much of that force is required, not what's providing it.
Worked example
1kg object, 10 m/s, 2m radius
Result: 50 N
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