centrifugal barrier

centrifugal barrier

[‚sen′trif·i·gəl ′bar·ē·ər] (mechanics) A steep rise, located around the center of force, in the effective potential governing the radial motion of a particle of nonvanishing angular momentum in a central force field, which results from the centrifugal force and prevents the particle from reaching the center of force, or causes its Schrödinger wave function to vanish there in a quantum-mechanical system.