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daniel_i_l
Gold Member
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My mechanics book says that if a rock falls freely to Earth from a certain height than it will be deflected slightly to the east due to the Coriolis force. But I don't understand why. Consider the following Wikipedia picture:
If we imagine that we're looking at the nothern hemisphere from above, than wouldn't this imply that the rock would fall to the west? The Coriolis force would be directed east but that's just the centripital force that causes the rock to spin.
What am I misunderstanding?
Thanks.
If we imagine that we're looking at the nothern hemisphere from above, than wouldn't this imply that the rock would fall to the west? The Coriolis force would be directed east but that's just the centripital force that causes the rock to spin.
What am I misunderstanding?
Thanks.