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Why is it "static friction?"



Why do we say that the m*v^2/r (acting on a car) is
the force of static friction?

I think of static friction as a "responding" force. For
example, a crate pulled to the right (by a rope) will
experience a responding force (from the floor) directed
to the left. If the pulling force (cause) is small then the
responding force (effect) is also small. The net force
acting on the crate remains zero when the causing
force increases (up to a limit). Kinetic frictional force
acts in the direction opposite to motion, static frictional
force acts in the direction opposite to the direction of
a causing force.

Referring to the centripetal force acting on a turning
car a textbook states "the force in the radial direction
acting on the car is the force of static friction directed
toward the center of the circular path." If the static
friction force is the effect then where is the causing
force? I am not convinced that the centripetal force,
acting on a turning car, is the static friction force (as
it was introduced in the first paragraph above).
Ludwik Kowalski