🌀 CORIOLIS EFFECT
PAGE 1 OF 5, SPINNING BENEATH YOU
THE ROTATING PLANET
EARTH NEVER STOPS SPINNING
Right now, you are standing on a planet that spins eastward once every 24 hours. At the equator, the ground beneath you races east at about 1,670 km/h, faster than a jet plane. You do not feel it because everything around you, the air, the oceans, and your chair, moves with you. But when something travels a long distance through the air or water, Earth's rotation changes the path it appears to follow. That apparent sideways push is called the Coriolis effect. It is one of the hidden forces that shapes global weather and long-range navigation.
🌍 SPIN SPEED
Earth's equator moves east at roughly 1,670 km/h. Near the poles the spin speed drops toward zero, and that difference is what makes the Coriolis effect stronger at higher latitudes.
SPIN!
APPARENT CURVE
🎯 Straight path aimed at a target
🌀 Lands to one side instead
🌍 Ground moved while it flew
🌀 Lands to one side instead
🌍 Ground moved while it flew
NOT A REAL FORCE
📐 An apparent deflection only
🔄 Seen in a rotating frame
✈️ Real for pilots and artillery
🔄 Seen in a rotating frame
✈️ Real for pilots and artillery