El coriolis effect It is widely named in science to refer to a turn that the currents of water and air have in different hemispheres. It is said that storms and hurricanes rotate one way in the northern hemisphere and the other way in the southern hemisphere. Why is this due? The same goes for bodies of water and even the famous fact of the opposite turn of the toilet water in different hemispheres. All this is conditioned by the coriolis effect.
Do you want to know more about this coriolis effect? Here we are going to explain everything to you.
What is the coriolis effect
The discoverer who was in charge of mathematically describing this force was Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis. It is thanks to this that it receives this name and not another. It was discovered in 1935 and has helped to know much more about the planet and the universe. In all rotary motion there is the coriolis force.
This effect is quite simple to explain. It is a force that occurs due to the rotation that the Earth has on its axis. This rotation is what makes us have day and night. Because of this spin, the trajectories of objects that are in motion on the earth's surface deviate. It is obvious if we do it on something that rotates quickly. And so does the Earth. However, due to the force of gravity, we do not notice that the Earth is rotating continuously and without stopping.
Objects deviate to the right for everything in the northern hemisphere and to the left for everything in the southern hemisphere. This is the reason why storms and cyclones move in different directions as they are located in one hemisphere or another.
When this effect takes place, an acceleration relative to the body occurs that is perpendicular to the relative velocity it is currently carrying. Thus, Depending on the speed at which the object is moving, the coriolis effect will be stronger or not.
Coriolis effect in meteorology and oceanography
The coriolis force is described in the first scientific papers after its discovery as a centrifugal force. This force is that of a body in motion relative to a system that is as a reference and in rotation. This is what happens with the Earth. So that we understand it well, it is like placing a marble in a gear that is moving. Its trajectory will be modified depending on the speed of the marble, since we will assume that the speed at which the gear rotates is constant. This occurs with the speed of the earth's rotation, it is constant.
For this reason, the deviation and its pronunciation that the trajectory of the objects that are on the earth's surface has will be conditioned by the speed. We are going to analyze the importance of this effect in the field of meteorology and oceanography.
When a mass of air or water moves, they follow the terrestrial meridians. Its speed, therefore, is modified as well as its trajectory by the action of the coriolis effect.
This effect helps us to know that whenever there is a rotating movement, the vortices will follow the described shape. This occurs with storms and anticyclones on any planet and not just on Earth. Also, the coriolis force occurs with the rotation of the sun and the stars as well.
This effect takes place in a more intense way at the equator since it is the area where the surface speed is greatest. At the poles it is slower. This is because at the equator, the distance to the center of the Earth is greater.
Why do hurricanes turn in the opposite direction?
The basins that have a more suitable shape, such as the North Atlantic basin and the South, the effect diverts the marine currents. In the northern hemisphere it deflects them to the right and in the southern hemisphere to the left. The same is true in the case of winds.
As to rumor spreading of the toilet turn in Australia is totally false. They do not rotate in the opposite direction as they do in the rest of the world due to this effect. If this does happen, it is because manufacturers build them to rotate that way.
On the other hand, those that do rotate in the opposite direction due to the coriolis effect are hurricanes. These hurricanes measure many kilometers and it may be the case that their extremes are in different hemispheres. When this happens, they will rotate in the opposite direction in each hemisphere, since each end will have a different speed as the Earth rotates. Therefore, hurricanes end up spiraling.
In the case of galaxies, gravity causes the center of the galaxy to be in a gigantic black hole that rotates and attracts all the matter that is around. However, gravity weakens as we move away from the center of galaxies. This slows down the material and creates a swirling effect. Let's not forget that the center of the galaxies is formed by a black hole.
Conclusions
Although for some it is not something conditioning, the coriolis force is something very important. It takes place in numerous phenomena on Earth and is responsible for the movement of ocean and air currents. This is an important thing to consider when planning the air routes of commercial flights.
Thanks to this knowledge, it has been possible to understand a lot about the dynamics of galaxies, air currents and water currents. In meteorology it is used to the prediction of these meteorological phenomena.
I hope that with this information you know more about the coriolis effect