Why is centrifugal force considered fictitious, when it's the one that feels real to us when we are moving in a circle? I understand the explanation regarding the reference frames: if our body is the reference frame, and it is rotating, a fictitious centrifugal force needs to be made up to cancel the centripetal force and explain why we appear to be stationary in relation to ourselves. However, if we are in a round up ride, we feel pushed againsts the wall, rather than towards the center of the ride, which would be the centripetal force. So if centrifugal force is the fictitious one, wouldn't that be like saying that the force we feel pushing us againsts the wall is only in our minds?
Answer
The reason we feel that we are pushed outwards is due to inertia. Inertia is the resistance to movement. It is measured by mass. When we have more movement, it makes it harder to get us moving.
In a car that is on a curve, for example, our inertia makes us want to keep on going forward. Going forward in this case would make us feel that we are being pushed outwards. Therefore, there is no centrifugal force in this case.
Sometimes, the centrifugal force is referred to the reaction force of the centripetal force. But usually, it refers to a ficitious force used to simplify thr mathematics.
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