In classical mechanics, a central force on an object is a force whose magnitude only depends on the distance r of the object from the origin and is directed along the line joining them:
where is the force, F is a vector valued force function, F is a scalar valued force function, r is the position vector, ||r|| is its length, and = r/||r|| is the corresponding unit vector.
Equivalently, a force field is central if and only if it is spherically symmetric.
Read more about Central Force: Properties, Examples
Famous quotes containing the words central and/or force:
“In a large university, there are as many deans and executive heads as there are schools and departments. Their relations to one another are intricate and periodic; in fact, “galaxy” is too loose a term: it is a planetarium of deans with the President of the University as a central sun. One can see eclipses, inner systems, and oppositions.”
—Jacques Barzun (b. 1907)
“Yet time and space are but inverse measures of the force of the soul. The spirit sports with time.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)