We have fixed the camera, so that it rotates with the earth. Watch closely, and you will notice that the red cone is veering in a curve towards the right as it moves. The reason why it is not following the direction in which the cone is pointing is, of course, that we as observers are rotating along with the globe. Below, we show the same image,with the camera fixed in outer space, while the earth rotates. The Coriolis force is a visible phenomenon.
Railroad tracks wear out faster on one side than the other.
River beds are dug deeper on one side than the other. In the Southern hemisphere the wind rotates clockwise around low pressure areas. On the next page we shall see how the Coriolis force affects the wind directions on the globe. Copyright 1998 Soren Krohn. All rights reserved.