Centrifugal force reversal from the perspective of rigidly rotating observer

TL;DR

This paper investigates the reversal of centrifugal force for relativistic particles from the perspective of arbitrary stationary observers in a rotating frame, demonstrating that such reversal is detectable by any stationary observer.

Contribution

It extends previous studies by showing that centrifugal force reversal is observable by any stationary observer at a distance from the rotation center.

Findings

Centrifugal force reversal occurs at relativistic speeds.

Any stationary observer can detect the reversal.

Reversal is frame-invariant for stationary observers.

Abstract

In previous studies the dynamics of the relativistic particle moving along the rotating pipe was investigated. The simple gedanken experiment was considered. It was shown that at large enough velocities a centrifugal force acting on the bead changes its usual sign and attracts towards the rotation axis. The authors studied motion of the particle along the rotating straight pipe in the frame of the observer located in the center of rotation, also dynamics of centrifugally accelerated relativistic particle was studied in the laboratory frame. In the both cases it was shown that centrifugal force changes sign. Recently the problem was studied in the frame of stationary observers. It was argued that centrifugal acceleration reversal is not frame invariant effect. In the present paper we consider motion of particle along the rotating straight line in the frame of an arbitrary stationary observer located at certain distance form the center of rotation and rigidly rotating with constant angular velocity. It is shown that any stationary observer could detect reversal of centrifugal acceleration.