What is the Coriolis Effect?
The Coriolis effect results from an inertial force that applies to bodies moving on a rotating surface, such as the Earth. It was first described in 1835 by the French scientist Gustave-Gaspard Coriolis. The inertial force acts to the left of the direction of motion for clockwise rotation and to the right for anticlockwise rotation. The Coriolis effect causes an apparent deflection in the path of an object moving in a straight line on a rotating coordinate system. The object does not actually deviate from a straight line, but it appears to do so because of the motion of the surface beneath. The magnitude of the Coriolis force on Earth is proportional to the sine of the latitude at the location. It is zero at the equator and maximum at the poles. One of the best and simplest ways to feel the magnitude and unique direction of a Coriolis force is with a Merry Go-Round. Stand near the outside edge of a gently rotating Merry Go-Round facing towards the center, being sure to hold-on safely t
By Annalisa Lettinga for TE 891 During Napoleons era, the military supposedly observed that when firing missiles from their new long range cannon, the missiles always landed to the right when accurately aimed before firing. This deflection from the straight path between the gun and the target was explained by Frenchman Gustave Gaspard Coriolis in 1835. Coriolis used Newtons First Law (objects in motion tend to stay in motion unless acted on by an unbalanced force), gravity and spherical geometry of the earth to explain that the deflection was due to the movement of the Earth and the effect was named after him following his death in 1843. He said that an object the moves within a rotating coordinate system does not actually deviate from its path, but appears to because of the motion. Therefore the Coriolis Effects deflection is related to the motion of the object, the motion of the earth, and latitude. Its magnitude can be measured by the formula: F = 2VWsin f Where F is the Coriolis Ef
The Coriolis effect is most apparent in the path of an object moving longitudinally. On the Earth an object that moves along a north-south path, or longitudinal line, will undergo apparent deflection to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. There are two reasons for this phenomenon: first, the Earth rotates eastward; and second, the tangential velocity of a point on the Earth is a function of latitude (the velocity is essentially zero at the poles and it attains a maximum value at the Equator). Thus, if a cannon were fired northward from a point on the Equator, the projectile would land to the east of its due north path. This variation would occur because the projectile was moving eastward faster at the Equator than was its target farther north. Similarly, if the weapon were fired toward the Equator from the North Pole, the projectile would again land to the right of its true path. In this case, the target area would have moved eastward before
The Coriolis effect is the apparent curvature of global winds, ocean currents, and anything else that moves freely across the Earth’s surface, due to the rotation of the Earth on its axis. It was discovered by, and is named for, nineteenth century French engineer Gaspard C. Coriolis (1792-1843). Coriolis used mathematical formulas to explain that the path of any object set in motion above a rotating surface will curve in relation to objects on that surface. If not for the spinning of the Earth, global winds would blow in straight north-south lines. In reality, global winds blow diagonally—for instance, from the northwest to the southeast. The Coriolis effect influences the direction of winds around the world as follows: In the Northern Hemisphere (the half of the Earth north of the equator), it curves them to the right; in the Southern Hemisphere (the area south of the equator) it curves them…
