Taiji Spiral

There must be some physics to this that I haven't had the time to research on, but somehow, I think there is some scientific basis behind the spiraling force we use in taiji. When you spiral out, you may move the same distance along a single axis, but the force generate is much more compared to moving that same distance in a straight line. Why? Maybe because the distance actually travelled is different? For example, the straight line distance between point A and B is 10cm. When you spiral from point A to B, however, you definitely cover more than 10cm. The science behind this may have to do with the difference between a nail and a screw, and maybe has to do with torque, but I am not good with physics or mathematics... so I guess I will have to leave this to someone else to explore and come up with a scientific explanation.