• Centrifugal force (simulation)

    From Luigi Fortunati@21:1/5 to All on Wed Dec 14 20:52:59 2022
    I have prepared two simulations, in the first one there is a rotating
    disc with a tube in which there is a ball bound with a rope.

    When we start the rotation with the "Start", *pairs* of opposing forces
    are activated: the rope exerts its centripetal force on the ball
    (otherwise the ball would not rotate) and the ball exerts its
    centrifugal force on the rope (otherwise the tension of the rope would
    not exist).

    Each pair of contiguous particles (of the ball, rope, and disc) exerts
    (on each other) a reciprocal pair of opposing forces (centripetal and centrifugal).

    The opposing forces are both there or both are missing.

    Is there (somewhere in my simulation) a centripetal force lacking its corresponding centrifugal force?

    Is there (somewhere in my simulation) a preponderance of centripetal
    over centrifugal forces?

    It seems to me not.

    The simulation is this:
    https://www.geogebra.org/m/tnas7mbn

    The second simulation has a rotating tube in which there is a ball
    which (unlike the previous one) is free to move.

    By selecting the appropriate boxes, you can choose normal or slowed
    down speed, and you can choose whether to have (or not have) the trace
    of the forces applied by the tube on the ball during rotation.

    These blue forces (when they arrive on the wall of the ball) are always orthogonal to the tube and, therefore, tangential.

    But what happens to these forces after the impact against the ball's
    surface? Do they disappear or does their action go even further by
    continuing inside the ball which (in the meantime) is rotating together
    with the tube?

    My hypothesis is that they do not disappear and, based on this
    hypothesis, I chose a single point of the ball (point P) and when,
    during the rotation, the tube touches P, I started the continuation of
    the force, coloring it in red (to highlight it).

    And I noticed that the force does not go in a tangential direction but
    (because of the rotation of the tube and the ball) it finds itself
    advancing in a centrifugal direction (with respect to the center of
    rotation)!

    To better observe this centrifugal red force, choose the slow rotation
    (or stop the animation midway) and look at the enlargement of the ball
    on the right.

    Obviously, what is true for point P is true for any other point on the
    ball.

    The simulation is as follows:
    https://www.geogebra.org/m/xcx6rj4s

    Can any of you tell me if this is really the case or if I need to make corrections to my simulations?

    I am ready to make any additions or modifications that may be
    necessary.

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  • From Tom Roberts@21:1/5 to Luigi Fortunati on Wed Dec 14 21:54:04 2022
    On 12/14/22 2:52 PM, Luigi Fortunati wrote:
    The simulation is this: https://www.geogebra.org/m/tnas7mbn

    When we start the rotation with the "Start", *pairs* of opposing
    forces are activated: the rope exerts its centripetal force on the
    ball (otherwise the ball would not rotate) and the ball exerts its centrifugal force on the rope (otherwise the tension of the rope
    would not exist).

    This is wrong. Your diagram shows the system in the inertial frame of
    the center. In this frame there is no "centrifugal force". The tension
    in the rope exerts a centripetal force on the ball, causing it go move
    in a circle. This force is UNOPPOSED, and the ball accelerates around
    the circle. (After all, that is what F=ma means.)

    Is there (somewhere in my simulation) a centripetal force lacking
    its corresponding centrifugal force?

    Everywhere, when you show the system in the inertial frame of the
    center, because in an inertial frame there is no "centrifugal force".

    Hint: if the centripetal force was opposed, then
    the net force on the ball would be zero, and it
    would not accelerate. But is MUST accelerate to
    move around in a circle.

    Is there (somewhere in my simulation) a preponderance of centripetal
    over centrifugal forces?

    If you showed the system in the rotating frame, then there would be a "centrifugal force" everywhere (except the center), including places
    with no corresponding centripetal force. Of course in such a diagram the
    ball would remain at one place -- it would not accelerate because the
    net force on it would be zero ("centrifugal" and centripetal forces
    canceling each other).

    Plain and simple, "centrifugal force" is a KLUDGE that permits one to
    more easily apply Newtonian mechanics in rotating coordinates [#]. It is
    purely due to the use of rotating coordinates, and does not correspond
    to any natural phenomenon, because it is an unnatural artifact of
    rotating coordinates.

    [#] In general one must also include "Coriolis and
    Euler forces". These are also unnatural artifacts
    of rotating coordinates.

    That's why we apply the label "fictitious forces" to the three
    "centrifugal, Coriolis, and Euler forces" -- they do not correspond to
    any natural phenomenon, and are merely unnatural artifacts of using
    rotating coordinates.

    [In General Relativity, and in geometrized Newtonian
    gravitation, those three "fictitious forces" appear
    in the geometrical connection, which is explicitly
    coordinate dependent. In GR, that's also where one
    finds "gravitational force".]

    Tom Roberts

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  • From Luigi Fortunati@21:1/5 to All on Fri Dec 16 18:55:48 2022
    Tom Roberts mercoledì 14/12/2022 alle ore 14:54:04 ha scritto:
    On 12/14/22 2:52 PM, Luigi Fortunati wrote:
    The simulation is this: https://www.geogebra.org/m/tnas7mbn

    When we start the rotation with the "Start", *pairs* of opposing
    forces are activated: the rope exerts its centripetal force on the
    ball (otherwise the ball would not rotate) and the ball exerts its
    centrifugal force on the rope (otherwise the tension of the rope
    would not exist).

    This is wrong.

    If my simulation is wrong, can you help me correct it?

    Before you press "Start" everything is still and there are no blue
    forces nor red forces.

    So far there is nothing to fix, right?

    Then I press "Start", the disk starts to rotate and some forces (in the inertial frame of my simulation) are activated.

    Your diagram shows the system in the inertial frame of
    the center. In this frame there is no "centrifugal force".

    Ok, here you say that( in the inertial frame of my simulation) the blue centripetal forces are there and the red centrifugal ones are not.

    So, I just take out the red forces and everything is fine?

    Ok I will.

    But first explain something to me: without the red centrifugal force
    (exerted by the ball on the string) how is the tension of the string
    justified (in the inertial frame of my simulation)?

    The tension in the rope exerts a centripetal force on the ball,
    causing it go move in a circle.

    And who is causing the tension in the string if, in the inertial frame
    of my simulation, there is no blue centrifugal force exerted on it by
    the ball?

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  • From Luigi Fortunati@21:1/5 to All on Fri Dec 23 07:24:06 2022
    In my simulation
    https://www.geogebra.org/m/tnas7mbn
    I have highlighted, coloring them in red, some centrifugal forces.

    These forces exist because they are the reaction to the corresponding centripetal forces (third principle).

    These forces are centrifugal because they point in the opposite direction to the corresponding centripetal forces.

    Every centripetal force has its corresponding centrifugal force (and vice versa).

    I'm not discussing outlandish or far-fetched theories but pure Newtonian physics.

    And, as I said, if there are any errors in my simulation, I'm ready to make whatever corrections are necessary.

    So why is nobody willing to clarify the matter? Why so much reticence?

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  • From Hendrik van Hees@21:1/5 to Luigi Fortunati on Fri Dec 23 15:09:37 2022
    On 23/12/2022 08:24, Luigi Fortunati wrote:
    In my simulation
    https://www.geogebra.org/m/tnas7mbn
    I have highlighted, coloring them in red, some centrifugal forces.

    These forces exist because they are the reaction to the corresponding centripetal forces (third principle).

    These forces are centrifugal because they point in the opposite direction to the corresponding centripetal forces.

    Every centripetal force has its corresponding centrifugal force (and vice versa).

    I'm not discussing outlandish or far-fetched theories but pure Newtonian physics.

    And, as I said, if there are any errors in my simulation, I'm ready to make whatever corrections are necessary.

    So why is nobody willing to clarify the matter? Why so much reticence?

    Although I have let this posting through as one of the moderators of
    this newsgroup, I must say that this point of view is full of
    misconceptions about the meaning of "inertial forces" (sometimes also
    called "fictitious forces", but I don't like this name).

    First of all, it must be very clear that "inertial forces", like the centrifugal and Coriolis forces in reference frames rotating with
    respect to the inertial reference frames, only occur in non-inertial
    frames of reference.

    Second, they are not the "reactio" of the "actio" in Newton's Lex Prima.
    These are interaction forces occuring in inertial frames of reference,
    and the statement is that if there is an interaction force between two
    bodies (labelled by "1" and "2") and the force on particle 1 is
    \vec{F}_{12}, then the the force on particle 2 is
    \vec{F}_{21}=-\vec{F}_{12}, i.e., the "actio-reactio pair of forces" act
    on different particles, never at the same particle.

    The equations of motion of Newtonian mechanics for point particles with constant mass are always defined with reference to an inertial frame of reference, and you get the equations describing these Newtonian within a non-inertial reference frame simply by writing the coordinates of the
    point particles wrt. an inertial frame in terms of coordinates referring
    to a non-inertial frame.

    This leads to additional terms when taking the time derivatives. If you
    have a rotating reference frame, i.e., a frame of reference whose
    (Cartesian) basis is rotating wrt. the Cartesian basis of the inertial reference frame, then the time-derivative of the components of an
    arbitrary vector with respect to the rotating basis reads

    D_t \vec{V}'=d_t \vec{V}'+\vec{\omega}' \times \vec{V}',

    where d_t is the usual time derivative of these components, and
    \vec{\omega}' are the components of the momentary angular velocity of
    the rotating basis wrt. the inertial basis.

    The equations of motion are the same as in the inertial frame of
    reference, but when expressed in terms of the non-inertial components of
    the position vector, you have to use the covariant time derivative twice
    to calculate the (components of the) acceleration of your particle in
    terms of the (components of the) position vector:

    m D_t^2 \vec{x}'=\vec{F}'(\vec{x}'),

    where \vec{F}' are the components of the "true force" (e.g., the
    gravitational force of the Earth on the particle) wrt. the rotating
    basis. Working out the time derivatives yields

    m (d_t^2 \vec{x}' + 2 \vec{\omega}' \times d_t \vec{x}'
    + \vec{\omega}' \times (\vec{\omega}' \times \vec{r}')
    + d_t \vec{\omega}' \times d_t \vec{x}'
    =\vec{F}'(\vec{x}')

    Now you bring all the additional terms to the right-hand side and
    reinterpret them as "inertial forces".

    As you see from this derivation, indeed these "inertial forces" only
    occur in the non-inertial reference frame and have nothing to do with
    reaction forces, which would be not forces on the same particle but to
    other particles interacting with it. In your Geogebra example the
    reaction force is on the rope not on the particle.

    --
    Hendrik van Hees
    Goethe University (Institute for Theoretical Physics)
    D-60438 Frankfurt am Main
    http://itp.uni-frankfurt.de/~hees/

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  • From Julio Di Egidio@21:1/5 to Hendrik van Hees on Sat Dec 24 22:34:14 2022
    On Friday, 23 December 2022 at 16:09:41 UTC+1, Hendrik van Hees wrote:
    On 23/12/2022 08:24, Luigi Fortunati wrote:
    <snip>
    The equations of motion of Newtonian mechanics for point particles with constant mass are always defined with reference to an inertial frame of reference, and you get the equations describing these Newtonian within a non-inertial reference frame simply by writing the coordinates of the
    point particles wrt. an inertial frame in terms of coordinates referring
    to a non-inertial frame.

    This leads to additional terms when taking the time derivatives.

    Please correct me if I am mistaken, but F=ma is not only valid in inertial frames, is it? Indeed, I find the way you are presenting things here still risks to give the impression that these "fictitious", aka "apparent" forces
    are only an artefact of the algebra, while in that sense they are rather a misnomer for the quite real forces an observer in that non-inertial frame
    would feel and measure. Put simply, if one jumps on a merry-go-round,
    fighting the centrifugal force is a real and properly physical thing, no?

    Julio

    [[Mod. note --
    1. Just to be clear: the quoted text was written by Hendrik van Hees,
    not by Luigi Fortunati.
    2. I agree with Hendrik: F=ma (with F only including "real" forces) is only
    valid in an inertial reference frame. To do Newtonian dynamics in a
    non-inertial reference frame, one must augment F to also include
    fictitious forces (such as the Coriolis force).
    3. From a Newtonian-dynamics-in-an-inertial-reference-frame perspective,
    if I jump on (and hold on to) a merry-go-round, I don't feel a
    centrifugal force. Rather, the merry-go-round exerts a *centripetal*
    force on me, accelerating me inwards (so that I move in a circle around
    the rotation axis). The *centripetal* acceleration is what I feel.
    -- jt]]

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  • From Luigi Fortunati@21:1/5 to All on Sun Dec 25 08:55:08 2022
    Mod. note -- sabato 24/12/2022 alle ore 15:34:14 ha scritto:
    3. From a Newtonian-dynamics-in-an-inertial-reference-frame perspective,
    if I jump on (and hold on to) a merry-go-round, I don't feel a
    centrifugal force. Rather, the merry-go-round exerts a *centripetal*
    force on me, accelerating me inwards (so that I move in a circle around
    the rotation axis). The *centripetal* acceleration is what I feel.

    What you feel is centripetal force (not acceleration), because force is
    felt, acceleration is not.

    And when (jumping on the merry-go-round) you feel the centripetal
    force, the pole you cling to feels your centrifugal force!

    You could never feel the centripetal force of the pole you cling to if,
    at the same time, the pole did not feel your centrifugal force.

    And when you jump off the merry-go-round, the two forces disappear
    together exactly as they were born together!

    The centripetal force of the pole and your centrifugal force travel
    *together*: both are there or both are not.

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  • From Hendrik van Hees@21:1/5 to Julio Di Egidio on Sun Dec 25 10:00:02 2022
    What I've tried to say is that the equation of motion is always m a = F,
    valid for basis-independent vectors, which always describe an inertial
    frame of reference. You cannot describe the equations of motion
    otherwise, because they must be formulated within the Galilei-Newton
    model. The "inertial forces" are not "fictitious" but just occur due to
    the time-dependence of the basis ("rotations" if you use Cartesian ones)
    and an acceleration of the origin of the non-inertial frame relative to
    the inertial frames.

    On 25/12/2022 07:34, Julio Di Egidio wrote:
    On Friday, 23 December 2022 at 16:09:41 UTC+1, Hendrik van Hees wrote:
    On 23/12/2022 08:24, Luigi Fortunati wrote:
    <snip>
    The equations of motion of Newtonian mechanics for point particles with
    constant mass are always defined with reference to an inertial frame of
    reference, and you get the equations describing these Newtonian within a
    non-inertial reference frame simply by writing the coordinates of the
    point particles wrt. an inertial frame in terms of coordinates referring
    to a non-inertial frame.

    This leads to additional terms when taking the time derivatives.

    Please correct me if I am mistaken, but F=ma is not only valid in inertial frames, is it? Indeed, I find the way you are presenting things here still risks to give the impression that these "fictitious", aka "apparent" forces are only an artefact of the algebra, while in that sense they are rather a misnomer for the quite real forces an observer in that non-inertial frame would feel and measure. Put simply, if one jumps on a merry-go-round, fighting the centrifugal force is a real and properly physical thing, no?

    Julio

    [[Mod. note --
    1. Just to be clear: the quoted text was written by Hendrik van Hees,
    not by Luigi Fortunati.
    2. I agree with Hendrik: F=ma (with F only including "real" forces) is only
    valid in an inertial reference frame. To do Newtonian dynamics in a
    non-inertial reference frame, one must augment F to also include
    fictitious forces (such as the Coriolis force).
    3. From a Newtonian-dynamics-in-an-inertial-reference-frame perspective,
    if I jump on (and hold on to) a merry-go-round, I don't feel a
    centrifugal force. Rather, the merry-go-round exerts a *centripetal*
    force on me, accelerating me inwards (so that I move in a circle around
    the rotation axis). The *centripetal* acceleration is what I feel.
    -- jt]]

    --
    Hendrik van Hees
    Goethe University (Institute for Theoretical Physics)
    D-60438 Frankfurt am Main
    http://itp.uni-frankfurt.de/~hees/

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