Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The Coriolis effect describes the pattern of deflection taken by objects not firmly connected to the ground as they travel long distances around Earth. The Coriolis effect is responsible for many large-scale weather patterns. The key to the Coriolis effect lies in Earth’s rotation.
In physics, the Coriolis force is an inertial (or fictitious) force that acts on objects in motion within a frame of reference that rotates with respect to an inertial frame. In a reference frame with clockwise rotation, the force acts to the left of the motion of the object.
It's not really our fault, we've only ever seen the equations and rotating frame explanations. This article will attempt to explain the basic workings of the Coriolis Effect in terms a non-physicist can understand.
The Coriolis effect is the curving of the path of an object due to a body’s rotation. The Coriolis force is a fictitious or apparent force that acts on object that is moving relative to a rotating reference frame.
The Coriolis force is an imaginary force that affects objects moving on a spinning surface, like the Earth. In simple words, it is the force you feel when you are moving with something that’s rotating. The Coriolis effect is what you see happening because of the Coriolis force.
What is the Coriolis Effect? The Coriolis Effect is an apparent effect produced by a rotating frame of reference. The effect occurs when an object moving along a straight path is viewed from a non-fixed frame of reference. The moving frame of reference is the Earth which rotates at a fixed speed.
Because the Earth rotates on its axis, circulating air is deflected toward the right in the Northern Hemisphere and toward the left in the Southern Hemisphere. This deflection is called the Coriolis effect. Click the image for a larger view. Coastal currents are affected by local winds.
Coriolis Effect As air blows from high to low pressure in the atmosphere, the Coriolis force diverts the air so that it follows the pressure contours. In the Northern Hemisphere, this means that air is blown around low pressure in an anticlockwise direction and around high pressure in a clockwise direction.
The Coriolis Effect, named after its discoverer, the French mathematician Gaspard Gustave de Coriolis (1792-1843), describes the deflection of the path of objects not connected to the ground, such as winds, storms, hurricanes, aircraft, etc.
In simple terms, the Coriolis Effect makes things (like planes or currents of air) traveling long distances around the Earth appear to move at a curve as opposed to a straight line. It’s a pretty weird phenomenon, but the cause is simple: Different parts of the Earth move at different speeds.