We are usually told in elementary books that there is “no such thing” as centrifugal force. When a satellite orbits around Earth, it is not held in equilibrium between two equal and opposite forces, n...We are usually told in elementary books that there is “no such thing” as centrifugal force. When a satellite orbits around Earth, it is not held in equilibrium between two equal and opposite forces, namely gravity acting towards Earth and centrifugal force acting outwards. In reality, we are told, the satellite is accelerating (the centripetal acceleration); there is only one force, namely the gravitational force, which is equal to the mass times the centripetal acceleration.
