Imagine slamming on the gas in your car. The car lurches forward, pushing your seat into you, and you start to accelerate forward.
As the driver, though, you feel like you are being pushed back into your seat, though it’s pretty obvious that there is no force pushing you back, it’s just the inertia of your body trying to stay put.
The only force in that system is the force of the car accelerating you forward, and the feeling of being pushed backwards is a fictitious force.
It’s the exact same with rotational motion, just trickier to wrap your head around. If you have acceleration, you know there are unbalanced forces, and an object in orbit is constantly accelerating.
Imagine slamming on the gas in your car. The car lurches forward, pushing your seat into you, and you start to accelerate forward.
As the driver, though, you feel like you are being pushed back into your seat, though it’s pretty obvious that there is no force pushing you back, it’s just the inertia of your body trying to stay put.
The only force in that system is the force of the car accelerating you forward, and the feeling of being pushed backwards is a fictitious force.
It’s the exact same with rotational motion, just trickier to wrap your head around. If you have acceleration, you know there are unbalanced forces, and an object in orbit is constantly accelerating.