Why moving bodies(or things)in the north hemisphere obviate to the right side and bodies on the south hemisphere obviate to the left side?(we`re talking about persons or things that move)
2006-10-01 05:10:35 · 6 answers · asked by kvcreom 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Geography
The Coriolis Effect
See the article at Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_Effect
Here's an interesting tidbit - that thing about toilets flushing in opposite directions in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres is an urban myth. Check it out at Snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/science/coriolis.htm
By the way - that next answerer ripped off the article I cited and didn't give credit to his source - oops.
2006-10-01 05:12:30 · answer #1 · answered by Snance 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
This is due to the Coriolis Effect. Probably the best example of this is airplanes in flight. A plane airborne from New York to Los Angelos, has to continually adjust it's course southward to account for the Coriolis force. Even though NY and LA are at approx the same latitude if a pilot were to try and fly straight course, the plane would end up somewhere in the Yukon or British Columbia. Hope this helps. The force is the exact opposite in the Southern Hemisphere. The pilots have to make continual Northward adjustments. This can also be readily observed in ocean and wind currents.
2006-10-01 07:14:03 · answer #2 · answered by firestrike85 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The Coriolis effect is an apparent deflection of a moving object in a rotating frame of reference.
The Coriolis effect caused by the rotation of the Earth is responsible for the precession of a Foucault pendulum and for the direction of rotation of cyclones. In general, the effect deflects objects moving along the surface of the Earth to the right in the Northern hemisphere and to the left in the Southern hemisphere. As a consequence, winds around the center of a cyclone rotate counterclockwise on the northern hemisphere and clockwise on the southern hemisphere. However, contrary to popular belief, the Coriolis effect is not a determining factor in the rotation of water in toilets or bathtubs.
The effect is named after Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis, a French scientist, who described it in 1835, though the mathematics appeared in the tidal equations of Laplace in 1778.
2006-10-01 05:13:21 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The rotation of the Earth accounts for this tendency. The formal name for it is "Coriolis Force".
However, this is really obvious only on a large scale -- hurricanes and tropical storms, photographed by satellites, show a very obvious "swirl", but coming down to human scale -- swimming pools, say, or bathtubs -- the shape of the defining container and any obstacles that exist in it will influence the swirl of the water (or air, or gasoline, or whatever) and offset the influence of the Coriolis Force.
2006-10-01 05:17:25 · answer #4 · answered by Dick Eney 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Its due to Ferrel's law. you can call it Coriolis force. I'll write as it is in my text.Coriolis force is an apparent force caused by the earth's rotation.The Coriolis force is responsible for deflecting winds towards its right in the northern hemisphere and to its left in the southern hemisphere. This is also known as 'Ferrel's Law'
2006-10-01 06:43:47 · answer #5 · answered by Neha Mathew 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I assume you are referring to the Coriolis effect, but I don't think "obviate" is the word you want. Perhaps deviate?
2006-10-01 05:18:53 · answer #6 · answered by auntb93again 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋