Coriolis, << `kawr` ee OH lihs, >> effect is the apparent effect of Earth’s rotation on the motion of anything traveling across the face of the globe. The Coriolis effect is too small to be noticeable when a person walks or drives. But it greatly affects the paths of objects flying over Earth. For example, a missile traveling above Earth tends to move in a straight line. But, to an observer rotating along with Earth, the path of the missile appears to curve, as if it were pushed. This apparent push is the Coriolis effect. The Coriolis effect prevents winds from the North and South poles and the equator from moving directly north or south. Winds that blow toward the equator seem to curve toward the west. Winds that move away from the equator seem to curve to the east. The Coriolis effect also influences the direction of ocean currents. The Coriolis effect is named for Gaspard Gustave de Coriolis, the French scientist who described it in 1835. See also Air (Air movement); Weather (Planetary-scale systems).
