The Coriolis Effect

Have you ever played on a merry-go-round? A merry-go-round spins just like the Earth. The next time you play on one, try and throw a ball to the kid across from you when you're spinning. Don't be suprised if the ball looks like it goes off to one side instead of straight. The ball curves because of the Coriolis Effect.

The Coriolis Effect is names after a French mathematician named Gustave Gaspard de Coriolis. Coriolis introduced a new term that let people use the laws of motion in a rotating system. The Coriolis Effect is used to explain why a straight path curves to the side when the system is spinning.

The Coriolis Effect is also called Coriolis Acceleration or the Coriolis Force. It is an apparent force, like centrifugal force. That means that there isn't a source of the force but that there is a result.
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View motion on a merry-go-round

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