Coriolis Acceleration
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Coriolis Acceleration
An acceleration
of a particle moving in a relative
coordinate system. The total acceleration of the particle, as measured in
an inertial
coordinate system, may be expressed as the sum of the acceleration within
the relative system, the acceleration of the relative system itself, and the
coriolis acceleration.
Physically, coriolis acceleration may be considered as coming from the
conservation of momentum in a body moving in a direction not parallel to the
axis of rotation of the relative system.
Mathematically, coriolis
acceleration comes from the differentiation of terms containing the angular
velocity Missing Image:IMG src="c_files/omegasm.gif" in the expression for the absolute
velocity of the particle.
In the case of the earth, moving with angular
velocity Missing Image:IMG src="c_files/omegasm.gif", a particle moving relative to the
earth with velocity v has the coriolis acceleration 2Missing Image:IMG
src="c_files/omegasm.gif" * v. If Newton laws are to be applied in the
relative system, the coriolis acceleration and the acceleration of the
relative system must be treated as forces. See apparent
force, coriolis
force, inertial
force, gravity.
References
This article is based on NASA's Dictionary of Technical Terms for Aerospace Use
