Homer Kelley was well aware of the academic notion that Centrifugal Force is "artificial."
That's a straw man argument. It works like this...
1. Say something your opponent didn't say
2. Tell everybody how wrong it is.
3. Draw the conclusion that your position must be correct.
For example
1. I heard <subject of ridicule> say that 2 + 2 = 7
2. We all know how silly that is.
3. Therefore 2 + 2 = 6
In the rock on the string example the rock is affected
by only one force. That is centripetal force and it is
what causes the rock to follow a circular path.
As a result of the string pulling on the rock, the rock
pulls on the string with an equal and opposite force.
That is the centrifugal force.
Going further, the boy pulls on the string (centripetal)
and the string pulls on the boy (centrifugal).
To balance the pull from the string, the boy leans back
ever so slightly and uses gravity to balance himself.
Too easy, but so many teachers, students, professors,
NASA educationalists and so on get it wrong.
There most certainly is a centrifugal force at work,
but it does not act on the stone.
Mock away, but Homer got it wrong. So did the flat earth theorists.
Before anybody asks, the "throw out effect" is real. It just has nothing
to do with centrifugal force. And that is the important thing!
Do you want to do the endless belt now, or chew on this one for a while?
Last edited by golf_sceptic : 06-26-2006 at 04:20 AM.
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