Coriolis force

noun

(physics) a force due to the earth's rotation; acts on a body in motion (airplane or projectile) in a rotating reference frame; in a rotating frame of reference Newton's second law of motion can be made to apply if in addition to the real forces acting on a body a Coriolis force and a centrifugal force are introduced

• Topics: ↑physics, ↑natural philosophy

• Hypernyms: ↑force

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noun

Usage: usually capitalized C

Etymology: after G. G. Coriolis

: the force corresponding to the Coriolis acceleration of a body equal to the product of the mass by the Coriolis acceleration and responsible as a result of the earth's rotation for the deflection of projectiles and the motion of the winds to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere

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Coriolis force,

Physics, Meteorology. a force, resulting from the rotation of the earth, that deflects other bodies or forces in motion, especially those above the earth, by causing them to veer to the right in the Northern Hemisphere, or to the left in the Southern Hemisphere: »

More recently it has been suggested that the Coriolis forces consequent on the earth's rotation could be measured and used to determine latitude (G. V. T. Matthews).

╂[< Gaspard G. Coriolis, 1792-1843, a French mathematician, who analyzed it]