Cunk on Physics

Cunk on Physics
Subhendu Mukherjee
Content, data analytics consultant and trainer
It is quite something to get ChatGPT to take a stab a British humour. Here I asked it to create a Philomena Cunk script (https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/what-is-cunk-on-earth-explained) on Centrifugal Force. And this is what I got
Hello, I’m Philomena Cunk, and this is Moments of Wonder. Today, I’m going to talk about centrifugal force, which is one of the most important forces in the world, along with gravity, electricity, and the force that makes you want to eat crisps. Centrifugal force is the force that makes you feel like you’re being pushed outwards when you’re spinning around. For example, when you’re on a roundabout, or a rollercoaster, or a washing machine. But what is centrifugal force? Where does it come from? And why does it hate us so much? To find out more, I spoke to an expert on forces, Professor Brian Cox.
Cunk: So, Professor Cox, what is centrifugal force?
Cox: Well, centrifugal force is not actually a real force. It’s what we call a fictitious force, or a pseudo-force.
Cunk: A fictitious force? Like Santa Claus?
Cox: No, not like Santa Claus. A fictitious force is a force that only appears to exist because of the motion of the observer.
Cunk: The motion of the observer? Like when you’re watching a film and you feel like you’re moving with the camera?
Cox: No, not like that either. A fictitious force is a force that arises from the inertia of an object that is moving in a non-inertial frame of reference.
Cunk: A non-inertial frame of reference? Like when you’re drunk and you can’t tell which way is up?
Cox: No, not like that at all. A non-inertial frame of reference is a frame of reference that is accelerating or rotating relative to an inertial frame of reference.
Cunk: An inertial frame of reference? Like when you’re sitting still and nothing is happening?
Cox: Yes, exactly. An inertial frame of reference is a frame of reference that is not accelerating or rotating relative to any other frame of reference.
Cunk: So, let me get this straight. Centrifugal force is a force that only exists because we’re moving in circles and we don’t like it?
Cox: Well, yes, that’s one way of putting it.
Cunk: And why do we move in circles anyway? What’s the point of that?
Cox: Well, there are many reasons why we move in circles. For example, the Earth rotates around its axis and orbits around the Sun. The Moon orbits around the Earth. The planets orbit around the Sun. The stars orbit around the center of the galaxy. And so on.
Cunk: And why do they do that?
Cox: Well, they do that because of another force called gravity.
Cunk: Gravity? What’s that?
Cox: Gravity is the force that attracts every object with mass to every other object with mass.
Cunk: So gravity is like love?
Cox: No, not like love. Gravity is a fundamental physical phenomenon that governs the structure and evolution of the universe.
Cunk: So gravity is like God?
Cox: No, not like God. Gravity is a natural phenomenon that can be described by mathematical equations and tested by experiments.
Cunk: So gravity is like magic?
Cox: No, not like magic. Gravity is a scientific concept that can be understood by reason and evidence.
Cunk: So gravity is like…I don’t know what gravity is like.
Cox: Well, maybe you should watch my series on The Wonders of the Solar System and The Wonders of the Universe.
Cunk: Maybe I should. Thank you for your time, Professor Cox.
Cox: You’re welcome.
So there you have it. Centrifugal force is a fake force that makes us feel sick when we spin around. And gravity is a real force that makes us spin around in the first place. Join me next time on Moments of Wonder when I’ll be asking: What are numbers? And why do they hate me so much?