A centripetal force (from Latin centrum center and petere to seek) is a force that makes a body follow a curved path. Its direction is always orthogonal to the motion of the body and towards the fixed point of the instantaneous center of curvature of the path.
There are a number of things that can cause a whitish coating or white spots to develop on the tongue, including the f ollowing: 1  Leukoplakia. 2  Oral thrush. 3  Oral lichen planus.
A whitening of the top layer of the tongue or the presence of white spots or patches on the tongue can also be seen with infection, irritation, or chronic inflammation of the surface of the tongue. Certain oral infections, notably Candida yeast infections (known as oral thrush), are characterized by a white tongue.