What is the Coriolis effect? What causes it?
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Coriolis effect is caused by an apparent force brought about by the rotation of the earth.This is further explained below.
Consider the hot air which rises in the tropics and spreads north and south towards the poles.Because of the earth's rotation,the air does not travel in a straight line but is deflected to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere.This is called the coriolis effect.This coriolis force varies with latitude and wind speed.It is maximum at the poles and zero at the equator.
This force can be illustrated as follows.
Start rotating a turn table(like that of a gramaphone).With a ruler and chalk piece,quickly draw a straight line from centre to the circumference.Stop the turn table.It is seen that the chalk line is not a straight line but a curve.This means that an apparent force causes the deflection in a sense opposite to that of the rotation .This apparent force is called the coriolis force and the effect is called the coriolis effect.
Consider the hot air which rises in the tropics and spreads north and south towards the poles.Because of the earth's rotation,the air does not travel in a straight line but is deflected to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere.This is called the coriolis effect.This coriolis force varies with latitude and wind speed.It is maximum at the poles and zero at the equator.
This force can be illustrated as follows.
Start rotating a turn table(like that of a gramaphone).With a ruler and chalk piece,quickly draw a straight line from centre to the circumference.Stop the turn table.It is seen that the chalk line is not a straight line but a curve.This means that an apparent force causes the deflection in a sense opposite to that of the rotation .This apparent force is called the coriolis force and the effect is called the coriolis effect.
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