Question

Which of these is an application of centrifugal force?
A) Separating cream from milk.
B) Riding a bike
D) Climbing a mountain
D) Skydiving

Answer 1

Hint: Centrifugal force is a fictitious or pseudo force that appears to act on all of the objects when viewed in a rotating frame of reference. The centrifugal force is directed away from the centre, to have a better understanding, in centripetal force the force is acted towards the centre.

Complete solution:
The magnitude of the centrifugal force is given as:
$F = m{\omega ^2}r$ ;
F = Force;
m = mass;
$\omega $= angular velocity;
r = Radius;
Centrifugal force is a force that appears to be there but in reality, it is not there. A good example of centrifugal force would be a tornado. A tornado when active throws away all objects that come near its sphere, the centrifugal force is acted opposite to its axis. In the case of separating cream from milk we need to understand that cream is fat and milk is composed of dairy fat and water. So, by applying centrifugal force the milk gets separated into whey (residue milk water which does not contain any fat) and cream (fat). We all know that liquid fat has lower density than water so the cream gets collected on the outside of a circular disc.

Final answer is Option (A) is correct. Therefore, separating milk from the cream is an example of centrifugal force.

Note: Consider the centrifugal force opposite to the centripetal force , unlike the centripetal force in which the force is applied in the centre in centrifugal force the force is away from the centre. Centripetal force tends to attract the moving object in the centre while centrifugal force tends to throw out objects.