Coriolis Effect
Our Stationary Earth
The Coriolis effect, was first noted by Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis in 1835. It can be defined as an apparent deflection of moving objects when viewed in a rotating reference frame. Although the coriolis effect is observable on a small scale, there are no effects which prove a rotating Earth which cannot be explained by other means.
An example
A common example is that of a cannon ball being fired. If a cannon situated at the north pole was fired along a longitudinal path (imagine the familiar black grid lines on a globe) towards the equator, the theory is that due to the supposed rotation of the Earth, although maintaining a straight path, the ball would appear to curve as the Earth rotates below it. In theory at least. In fact, no adjustment for this force has to be made when considering the Earth rotation. Wonder why? The 'Paris Gun' used in WWI had a range of 130km, and was deemed fairly useless as it was only capable of hitting city sized targets, and was better for the psychological effect rather than its destructive capabilities.
Does water circle down a plughole differently depending on which hemisphere you are in?
No. This is a common myth, helped along by a Simpsons episode (episode 16, series 6)! In 1908 a careful study in Boston was conducted. A 6ft tank containing 1,100L of water was allowed to settle in a temperature stabalised room for 24 hours. When the plug was slowly released, in the first 12 - 15 minutes of draining no noticable effect was seen. Then, pieces of wood which were used to easily see the effect, began to turn counter-clockwise. Once this slight movement was noticed, the remaining water seemed to follow the current and it progressively increased in speed due to gravity and the conservation of angular momentum. This was repeated and averages taken. It was assumed that the rotation of the Earth was the cause of the initial slight current. An alternative explanation could be that just like the Sun and Moon have tidal effects, they could have influenced this experiment, along with the celestial sphere. It is only an assumption that Earths rotation causes the effect, not that the effect proves the Earths rotation. What is clear is that an ordinary sink or toilet is nowhere near as accurate as the laboratory experiment which took 12 minutes to see any notable results.
Air Travel
An obvious proof against the rotation of the Earth theory is that of air travel. If the Earth really was turning, then it would take longer or shorter to travel one direction than the return journey, as you would either be helped or hindered by the rotation of the Earth. However, both journeys are of the same length, because the Earth does not rotate.
A false argument against this theory is that somehow the atmosphere is also meant to be moving with the Earth and so there is no effect. It is likened to playing catch with a ball in a moving car, because as the car travels at 60mph, the ball and air all move in relation to each other so there is no effect on the ball. This analogy works fine, until you let down the sunroof. In the real world, the atmosphere is not magically held in place. In fact, the theory is flawed anyway. At the precise north pole, there would be a theoretical wind speed of zero, with a theoretical wind speed of 1670km/hr at the equator! Obviously for every micro degree in latitude there would be a slightly different wind speed, and so travelling in a straight longitudinal line would result in a constant breeze. Imagine a poor airline pilot trying to land a plane at the equator with a runway moving at 1670km/hr!
If you have any questions or comments, please email us
An example
A common example is that of a cannon ball being fired. If a cannon situated at the north pole was fired along a longitudinal path (imagine the familiar black grid lines on a globe) towards the equator, the theory is that due to the supposed rotation of the Earth, although maintaining a straight path, the ball would appear to curve as the Earth rotates below it. In theory at least. In fact, no adjustment for this force has to be made when considering the Earth rotation. Wonder why? The 'Paris Gun' used in WWI had a range of 130km, and was deemed fairly useless as it was only capable of hitting city sized targets, and was better for the psychological effect rather than its destructive capabilities.
Does water circle down a plughole differently depending on which hemisphere you are in?
No. This is a common myth, helped along by a Simpsons episode (episode 16, series 6)! In 1908 a careful study in Boston was conducted. A 6ft tank containing 1,100L of water was allowed to settle in a temperature stabalised room for 24 hours. When the plug was slowly released, in the first 12 - 15 minutes of draining no noticable effect was seen. Then, pieces of wood which were used to easily see the effect, began to turn counter-clockwise. Once this slight movement was noticed, the remaining water seemed to follow the current and it progressively increased in speed due to gravity and the conservation of angular momentum. This was repeated and averages taken. It was assumed that the rotation of the Earth was the cause of the initial slight current. An alternative explanation could be that just like the Sun and Moon have tidal effects, they could have influenced this experiment, along with the celestial sphere. It is only an assumption that Earths rotation causes the effect, not that the effect proves the Earths rotation. What is clear is that an ordinary sink or toilet is nowhere near as accurate as the laboratory experiment which took 12 minutes to see any notable results.
Air Travel
An obvious proof against the rotation of the Earth theory is that of air travel. If the Earth really was turning, then it would take longer or shorter to travel one direction than the return journey, as you would either be helped or hindered by the rotation of the Earth. However, both journeys are of the same length, because the Earth does not rotate.
A false argument against this theory is that somehow the atmosphere is also meant to be moving with the Earth and so there is no effect. It is likened to playing catch with a ball in a moving car, because as the car travels at 60mph, the ball and air all move in relation to each other so there is no effect on the ball. This analogy works fine, until you let down the sunroof. In the real world, the atmosphere is not magically held in place. In fact, the theory is flawed anyway. At the precise north pole, there would be a theoretical wind speed of zero, with a theoretical wind speed of 1670km/hr at the equator! Obviously for every micro degree in latitude there would be a slightly different wind speed, and so travelling in a straight longitudinal line would result in a constant breeze. Imagine a poor airline pilot trying to land a plane at the equator with a runway moving at 1670km/hr!
If you have any questions or comments, please email us