As a former physicist, I have been observing this debate for a long time with interest. Here are my two cents.
It is true that there is no tangential force. There is only radial force. The force that makes the electron orbit around the nucleus is the electrostatic Coulomb force on the elctron exerted by the proton in the nucleus. This is the centripetal force. In other words, the Coulomb force "is" the centripetal force. The word "centripetal," meaning "toward center" refers to what the force does, and the word "electrostatic"/"Coulomb" refers to the cause of this force. The two words are used to represent exactly the same force. It is tautological to say that they are *equal* when they are one and the same thing.
The so-called centrifugal force, on the other hand, is the equal and opposite reaction (from Newton's third law) to the centripetal force, and acts on the proton, NOT on the electron. So, the radial forces *on the electron* are NOT balanced. I think what causes the confusion is the common misunderstanding of Newton's third law that assumes that the action and the reaction acts on the same body. The third law actually says that the action and the reaction act on different bodies. We have to remember that when analyzing motion of a body, we have to look at forces acting only on that body.
Finally, the net nonzero radial force on the electron forces it to a traverse an orbital path (by pulling it toward the center) instead of continuing in a straight line along the tangent. Hope this will help clear up some of the miscommunication and misunderstanding we have seen in this debate.
I intend to write more about "Schrodinder's Cat," which started this debate, later.
Best wishes,
M. Harun uz Zaman
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