As I'm now a senior, I've began thinking about what I'm going to do after I graduate. As I look at my 2 majors (chemistry and communications), I realize that I have so many options, but I still have no idea what I want to do.

I've been looking into a program/career called science writing. Science writing is basically translating scientific speak into common man speak.

For real though, science really is like another language and I translate it for you.

Anyway... so I want to start "practicing" my science writing. So every now and then you can expect a scientific informational articles from me.

This week I'm going to talk about centrifugal forces.

Centrifugal forces are basically the forces that allow objects to move in a circular motion.

There are basic forces at work everyday around us. Gravity is one of the most basic forces. It acts vertically; meaning it pulls objects down (towards the Earth's surface).

But what if you're spinning with a rock tied to a string? That rock isn't being pulled down, it's staying up in the air. This is due not only to the tension in the string (tension is another basic force), but also to the centrifugal force.

It's the force going through the tension of the string and allowing it to continue in a circular pattern rather than just going straight.

This means that naturally, the rock wants to move in straight lines, but the centrifugal force allows to move in the circle we know it moves in.

What happens if the string breaks? Then Newton's second law will be in effect (force = mass times acceleration). When the string breaks, the centrifugal force breaks as well; the rock will move in a straight line away from you. Gravity will also begin take effect pulling it towards the Earth.