Motion on Surface of the Earth: Coriolis Force

latitude (°)

0.420973

initial velocity in x (m/s)

3.25

time (s)

5.96

A projectile is launched along the

x

axis at a fixed latitude on the surface of the Earth. The projectile experiences the effect of the Coriolis force, which is a fictitious force observed in a rotating reference frame (blue curve), deflecting the trajectory clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, with respect to an inertial frame (red curve). This effect is important for oceanic currents, prevailing winds, hurricanes, and so on.