Coriolis Force

The Coriolis force is an inertial force observed in rotating systems in conjunction with the conservation of angular momentum. It takes the mathematical form <math>2m \boldsymbol{\Omega}\times \boldsymbol{v}</math> where <math>m</math> is mass, <math>\boldsymbol{\Omega}</math> is angular velocity, and <math> \boldsymbol{v}</math> is the linear velocity. The expression first appeared in a paper written in the year 1835 by French scientist Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis in connection with water wheels where he referred to is as a compound centrifugal force. The Coriolis force amounts to a transverse deflection of the radial component of motion relative to any arbitrarily chosen polar origin. It is a consequence of Newton's first law of motion and it is best observed in atmospheric cyclones, eccentric planetary orbits, and in precessing gyroscopes.