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The gravitational force on a satellite is towards the center of the Earth. The gravitational force IS the centripetal force is this case, so the centripetal force pulls the satellite towards the center of the Earth. There is no balancing force that pulls the satellite outwards (if there were, it wouldn't accelerate, i.e., change direction).

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Q: What direction of the gravitational force and centripetal force on a satellite?
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Does centripetal mean balanced or unbalanced?

Centripetal force acting on an orbiting object is unbalanced since the object is being accelerated.Velocity is continually changing direction if not speed. This means an orbiting object is accelerating and the direction of acceleration is toward the center. In fact, centripetal means "center seeking."A person at rest on the surface of the Earth is being acted upon by a centripetal force (toward the center of the Earth, that is, down) which is exactly equal and opposite to the spring force of the Earth's matter pushing up. Thus, in this case, the centripetal force is balanced.The previous answer (below) is generally incorrect.No,because when a body revolves round an orbit,its CENTRIPETAL force is balanced by the WEIGHT of the body!thank you!!


What factors are true about centripetal force?

Centripetal force is a force that is required to exist to have a circular motion. Thus the centripetal force can be any force that is able to accomplish this task. Examples of centripetal forces are the gravitational force, the electromagnetic force, the frictional force, or the constraint forces. The centripetal force depends on the system that is involved in be in a spin of a rigid body, or of a planetary motion, etc. Each particular system that requires a rotation or a spin needs to have a corresponding centripetal force.


What direction does a centripetal force vector point?

toward the center of the circle along the radius. the centrifugal force acts opposite the centripedal force


Buoyancy is a force that always acts in an?

Buoyancy always acts in the direction opposite to the direction of the gravitational force. We normally consider this direction as 'upward'.


What is the formula to find centripetal force?

Centripetal force is always directed towards the center of the circle of motion that an object is traveling in.

Related questions

What force continuallly changes a satellite's direction?

centripetal force


What provides the force that causes the centripetal acceleratoin of the satellite in orbit?

The mutual gravitational force between the satellite and the 'central' body.


How does centripetal force on a satellite in orbit?

by means of the gravitational forces between it and the planet


How does centripetal force act on a satellite orbit?

by means of the gravitational forces between it and the planet


How centripetal force equals to gravitational force?

The centripetal force is equal to the gravitational force when a particular body is in a circle. For a body that is in an orbit, the gravitational force is equivalent to the centripetal force.


Is centripetal force equal to gravitational force in working of a satillite?

The gravitational force IS the centripetal force in this case.


How does the centripetal force act on a satellite?

Centripetal force makes a satellite orbit a body.


What provides the centripetal force that keeps objects in orbit?

Centripetal force wants to move something towards the centre. So in a satellites case that would be the Gravity of the Earth. If you had a rock tied to a string you were spinning around, the Centripetal Force would be the tension in the string acting towards the centre.


Does the centripetal force act as an unbalanced force on the satellite in orbit?

Yes. According to Newton's Second Law, there has to be an unbalanced force - otherwise, the satellite won't accelerate (in this case, change direction).


What keeps the natural satellite to stay in his position?

The revolutionary movement of the natural satellite such as moon around the earth makes it stable in its orbit. This is similar to the stay of earth around the sun. Scientifically speaking the gravitational force of attraction between the earth and moon becomes the necessary centripetal force to keep it stay in its orbit. This centripetal force will be along the line joining the moon and the earth. This centripetal will be balanced by the centrifugal which acts away from the earth. This centrifugal force comes into the scene due to the inertia of direction.


Centrifugal force is the force that?

Centrifugal force is the outward force of a rotating object. The opposite force is the centripetal force which maintains the object in it's rotational position. In the case of an orbiting satellite it's rotational speed (revolutions per time period) creates the centrifugal force required to overcome the gravitational pull (centripetal force) of the body it is orbiting. ================================== The first answer is a neat, tidy, well-written summary of perhaps the most popular misconception in all of elementary Physics. Centrifugal force is a concept made up to account for the sensation of force that we perceive when we move in a curve. There need not be any outward force on a rotating object, and in general there is none. Centripetal force is real. It's the force required to bend the path of a moving abject away from a straight line. There is no outward force on an orbiting satellite. No force is required, and none exists, to 'overcome' the centripetal gravitational pull. In fact, if there were a force that overcame the gravitational centripetal force, then the forces on the satellite would sum to zero and it would travel in a straight line.


What is the force that causes the earth to orbit the sun?

GRAVITY!A2. Centripetal force. The velocity of the satellite around the earth causes centripetal, force which balances with the gravity, holding it in a circular orbit around the earth.