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microB microB
wrote...
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11 years ago
This is for my science project and I have no idea what to put down.
The complete question is:
Explain why the correct term is "Coriolis Effect" and not "Coriolis Force". Explain what is responsible for this concept and what impact it has on global wind and climate patterns. Be specific, do not explain it using generalities. Use specific terms to describe the global wing patterns and the associated climates in at least three locations in the northern and southern hemispheres in your answer.
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wrote...
11 years ago
I'm not sure but it is Probaly because the term is the effect it has on objects, not the actual force acting on them.
wrote...
11 years ago
Because it's not a force. It's just an effect caused by atmospheric inertia on a rotating globe.
 The same way evolution isn't a force or law. It's just the observation that things that have a better chance of surviving are more likely to have babies that survive.
wrote...
11 years ago
Its a deflection, its an effect because of the way we see it.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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