The Coriolis Force - introduction

The coriolis force arises due to the fact that the earth is rotating... -->>

Properties of the coriolis force:

• acts on objects not rigidly attached to the earth
• always acts to deflect an object to the right (left) of its direction of motion in the northern (southern) hemisphere
• magnitude is zero at the equator, maximum at the poles
• magnitude depends on the rotation rate of the earth - the magnitude would increase if the earths rotation rate increased
• if the earth were not rotating, the coriolis force would be zero