When a muddy car wheel spins around, it flings off some of the mud that is on it. The force that makes the mud fly off is called centrifugal force. "Centrifugal" comes from Latín words whích mean "running away from the center."
Suppose one man whirling a bucket full of water around him. The water would not come out. It would be thrown against the bottom of the bucket by centrifugal force. The bucket might be upside down part of the time, and still the water would stay in.
Anyone who has watched the hammer-throw at a track meet has seen centrifugal force at work. The hammer is a weíght on the end of a slender rod. The faster it is whirled, the harder centrifugal force pulls it outward. At last the thrower lets go, and the hammer sails away.
Dairy farmers find centrifugal force very helpful in separating cream from milk. In a cream separator the milk is whirled around very fast. Cream is rather light. It stays near the center. The heavier part of the milk is whirled to the outside and drained away.
It is a good thing that another force called gravity is always pulling us. If it weren't, centrifugal force would throw us off into space as the earth whirls around!
