Coriolis Effect:

Coriolis effect is 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.

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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 2 sin , in which is the
velocity of the object, is the angular velocity of the Earth, and 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.

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Schematic representation of flow around a low-pressure area in the Northern hemisphere. The
Rossby number is low, so the centrifugal force is virtually negligible. The pressure-gradient
force is represented by blue arrows, the Coriolis acceleration (always perpendicular to the
velocity) by red arrows.

Schematic representation of inertial circles of air masses in the absence of other forces,
calculated for a wind speed of approximately 50 to 70 m/s. Note that the rotation is exactly
opposite of that normally experienced with air masses in weather systems around depressions.

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Coriolis Forces

Once air has been set in motion by the pressure gradient force, it undergoes an apparent
deflection from its path, as seen by an observer on the earth. This apparent deflection is called
the "Coriolis force" and is a result of the earth's rotation.

As air moves from high to low pressure in the northern hemisphere, it is deflected to the right by
the Coriolis force. In the southern hemisphere, air moving from high to low pressure is deflected
to the left by the Coriolis force.

The amount of deflection the air makes is directly related to both the speed at which the air is
moving and its latitude. Therefore, slowly blowing winds will be deflected only a small amount,
while stronger winds will be deflected more. Likewise, winds blowing closer to the poles will be
deflected more than winds at the same speed closer to the equator. The Coriolis force is zero
right at the equator.