CFM incorporates a miniature microscope and camera into a swinging-bucket centrifuge. Colloidal particles in suspension interact with the interior surface of a sample cell, which is loaded into the CFM. The effective gravity produced by the centrifuge pulls the colloidal particles away from the interior surface, and the camera records these detachments. In this way, interaction forces of colloids are measured. Van der Waals and electrostatic interaction forces, as well as depletion interactions, are among the forces that can be characterized.