Coriolis Effect

While I was doing some research on the air flow in a tornado I came across the Coriolis effect. The Coriolis effect is the reason for the rotation in a storm system. The Coriolis effect is the difference in an object's path when viewed from a rotational viewpoint opposed to a linear viewpoint. The Coriolis effect is caused by the rotation of the earth and the inertia of the mass experiencing the effect. The Coriolis effect is usually negligible due to the fact that the earth only makes one rotation per day. The Coriolis effect can become substantial if the motion of the object s over a long distance and travels or a significant length of time (ex. tornados, movement of water in the oceans and long range sniper shots).

Tornado

A tornado located in Oklahoma.

While getting my fix from my most recent addiction, the discovery channel, I was mindful of how a tornado is an excellent representation of Bernoulli's principle. A tornado forms in a very similar manner to a hurricane. There is a low pressure center that causes a wind gradient. The flow of air in this gradient is what causes the high winds. Writing the Bernoulli equation for the low pressure center and the area of high winds circling the low pressure center, you can see how as you move farther from the low pressure center that the energy stored in pressure is converted to kinetic energy causing the high velocity winds.