What is the Coriolis Force?

Answer 1

The Coriolis effect is an apparent deflection of a moving object in a rotating frame of reference.

Answer 2

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 (see the Draining bathtubs/toilets section below).

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.

You could get more information from the link below...

Answer 3

in classical mechanics, an inertial force described by the 19th-century French engineer-mathematician Gustave-Gaspard Coriolis in 1835. Coriolis showed that, if the ordinary Newtonian laws of motion of bodies are to be used in a rotating frame of reference, an inertial force—acting to the right of the direction of body motion for counterclockwise rotation of the reference frame or to the left for clockwise rotation—must be included in the equations of motion.

The effect of the Coriolis force is an apparent deflection of the path of an object that moves within a rotating coordinate system. The object does not actually deviate from its path, but it appears to do so because of the motion of the coordinate system.

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 shell reached it because of its greater eastward velocity. An exactly similar displacement occurs if the projectile is fired in any direction.

The Coriolis deflection is therefore related to the motion of the object, the motion of the Earth, and the latitude. For this reason, the magnitude of the effect is given by 2νω sin ϕ, in which ν is the velocity of the object, ω is the angular velocity of the Earth, and ϕ is the latitude.

The Coriolis effect has great significance in astrophysics and stellar dynamics, in which it is a controlling factor in the directions of rotation of sunspots. It is also significant in the earth sciences, especially meteorology, physical geology, and oceanography, in that the Earth is a rotating frame of reference, and motions over the surface of the Earth are subject to acceleration from the force indicated. Thus, the Coriolis force figures prominently in studies of the dynamics of the atmosphere, in which it affects prevailing winds and the rotation of storms, and in the hydrosphere, in which it affects the rotation of the oceanic currents. It is also an important consideration in ballistics, particularly in the launching and orbiting of space vehicles. In modern physics, application of a quantity analogous to Coriolis force appears in electrodynamics wherever instantaneous voltages generated in rotating electrical machinery must be calculated relative to the moving reference frame: this compensation is called the Christoffel voltage.

Answer 4

It is an acceleration which occurs as one moves South.
As you go South you are moving to a part of the Earth's surface which is further from the axis of rotation and so are going faster as the Earth rotates.
A simple example, if you are 60 degrees North the Earth's circumference is cos 60 = 0.5 its circumference at the equator so you are travelling at 12,500 miles in 24 hours.
At the equator you are travelling at 25,000 miles in 24 hours. Coriolis is the acceleration as you go from one to the other and must be allowed for in inertial navigation systems.

Answer 5

Yawn.... i learned this before i got out of highschool :Coriolis effect is an apparent deflection of a moving object in a rotating frame of reference.

Answer 6

An artifact of the Earth's rotation

Answer 7

Sounds like some underground greek vigilante group

Answer 8

Is the force that keeps the universe in motion.

Answer 9

Stand on one of those children's roundabouts (we used to call them teapot lids) and while it is spinning try to kick the centre post, you'll find your foot deflected enough to miss the post entirely.

Answer 10

Might have learned it quite a while ago but you apperently still had to look it up : )