section_path: Examples of forces in classical mechanics/Centripetal
section_name: Centripetal
paragraph_text: Centripetal
  
  For an object in uniform circular motion, the net force acting on the object equals: F = − m v 2 r r ^, {\displaystyle \mathbf {F} =-{\frac {mv^{2}}{r}}{\hat {\mathbf {r} }},} where m {\displaystyle m} is the mass of the object, v {\displaystyle v} is the velocity of the object and r {\displaystyle r} is the distance to the center of the circular path and r ^ {\displaystyle {\hat {\mathbf {r} }}} is the unit vector pointing in the radial direction outwards from the center. This means that the net force felt by the object is always directed toward the center of the curving path. Such forces act perpendicular to the velocity vector associated with the motion of an object, and therefore do not change the speed of the object (magnitude of the velocity), but only the direction of the velocity vector. More generally, the net force that accelerates an object can be resolved into a component that is perpendicular to the path, and one that is tangential to the path. This yields both the tangential force, which accelerates the object by either slowing it down or speeding it up, and the radial (centripetal) force, which changes its direction.