Centripetal force's a force that makes a body follow a curved, as opposed to straight, path; it's always directed orthogonal to the velocity of the body, toward the instantaneous center of curvature of the path. The term centripetal force comes from the Latin words centrum ("center") and petere ("tend towards", "aim at"), signifying that the force's directed inward toward the center of curvature of the path. Isaac Newton's description was: "A centripetal force's that by which bodies are drawn o… (More on Centripetal)