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Motion on Rotating Sphere Visualizer
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This model depicts the motion of a object sliding on the surface of a smooth sphere
whose size and rotation speed are identical to the Earth. You select the starting
speed and direction of the object and click on the map to see the trajectory of the
object over a week of time. The object is subject to the Coriolis acceleration, an
acceleration caused by the rotating system of reference.
Handy rules to remember for the Coriolis acceleration are:
- The acceleration is perpendicular to the object velocity so the acceleration will change
only the direction of the velocity and not its magnitude.
- In the Northern Hemisphere, objects curve to the right as they travel.
- In the Southern Hemisphere, objects curve to the left as they travel.
An Introduction to the Coriolis Force, H. M. Stommel, D. W. Moore, Columbia Univ. Press, 1989