TrippyHippy
Emperor Mongoose
Taken from the other forum:
“Centrifugal force” (discussed in the Artificial Gravity section). Technically, there is no such thing as centrifugal forces. What you have is centripetal forces and their interaction with Newton’s 1st law.
‘Centripetal force' means the force pulled to the centre of a circle when the motion of an object is in a circular motion.
So, for example, a bucket of water being swung around an axis by a rope has a centripetal force acting to accelerate the bucket to the centre, and prevent it from flying off. However, the water in the bucket is trying to maintain Newton’s 1st Law of motion (to keep moving in a straight direction at a constant velocity). Hence, as the bucket turns in a circle, the water continues to push straight until it collides with the bottom/side of the bucket. It therefore it appears to be forced to the outside of the bucket which is termed ‘centrifugal’ (or 'avoiding the centre'). However, it doesn’t really exist - centrifugal forces are pseudo forces.
If we are going to do a hard Sci-fi game, then let's get the Newtonian Physics correct from the start.
“Centrifugal force” (discussed in the Artificial Gravity section). Technically, there is no such thing as centrifugal forces. What you have is centripetal forces and their interaction with Newton’s 1st law.
‘Centripetal force' means the force pulled to the centre of a circle when the motion of an object is in a circular motion.
So, for example, a bucket of water being swung around an axis by a rope has a centripetal force acting to accelerate the bucket to the centre, and prevent it from flying off. However, the water in the bucket is trying to maintain Newton’s 1st Law of motion (to keep moving in a straight direction at a constant velocity). Hence, as the bucket turns in a circle, the water continues to push straight until it collides with the bottom/side of the bucket. It therefore it appears to be forced to the outside of the bucket which is termed ‘centrifugal’ (or 'avoiding the centre'). However, it doesn’t really exist - centrifugal forces are pseudo forces.
If we are going to do a hard Sci-fi game, then let's get the Newtonian Physics correct from the start.