Figure 1 According to Newton's first law of motion an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. And if the unbalanced force (blue arrow) is applied perpendicular to the motion of the object there will be a change in the direction. If this force is constant and always perpendicular to the motion then the object will follow a circular path (pink). (See figure 1)
Figure 1 Since the force has to be constant for the object to move in a circular path the object is always being accelerated. The acceleration experienced by the object is known as centripetal acceleration, which is always directed toward the center of the curvature. Centripetal is literally defined as as "center-seeking" or "towards the center."
Any object that is moving in a circular path is being "exposed" to a force known as centripetal force. Centripetal force, like the centripetal acceleration, is also always directed towards the center. The magnitude of the centripetal force (Fc) is:
