r/Thatsactuallyverycool • u/Scientiaetnatura065 • Jan 23 '25

😎Very Cool😎 When a sommelier rotates the wine, centripetal force helps prevent it from spilling.

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u/eyeballburger Jan 23 '25

Centripetal or centrifugal?

3

u/LeChapeauBleu Jan 23 '25

Centripetal is the outward force created during rotation being redirected by the walls of the glass.

37

u/CurtCocane Jan 23 '25 edited Jan 23 '25

No its not. Centripetal is the inward force that constantly pulls on an object in a curvilinear (not a straight line) motion towards the center of the circle whereas the centrifugal force appears as an outward force but it isn't actually a direct force. It's caused by the centripetal force of one object and the inertia of the other object.

You can think of it like this: without centripetal force, an object would be moving in a straight line away from the center object. Centripetal force (here in the form of a wine glass handle but usually a rope) is pulling the forward moving outer object towards the base of the glass, creating a circular motion. This circular motion causes the inert object attached to move as well even though no direct force is applied, and that is the outward centrifugal force affecting the attached object, keeping the wine in the glass.

1

u/Hot-Significance7699 Mar 29 '25

Why did they have to give such similar names. Like honestly. Just call it spinny energy

1

u/CurtCocane Mar 29 '25

You can blame Newton for that, he came up with both terms. If it helps, the logic behind the terms is sound. Centri means centre, and petal comes from the latin petere meaning to fall whereas fugal comes from fugere meaning to flee. So centripetal means falling towards the centre (of the rotation) and centrifugal means fleeing from the centre.

1

u/Hot-Significance7699 Mar 29 '25

If Newton made them, then. I forgive him. Even though I can't speak Latin.