This applet simulates what happens when a secondary force is applied to a moving object.
To try this
simulation:
Click one of the buttons on the applet with your mouse to control the spinning of the table. Then place and drop the ball on the table by left-clicking your mouse. Left-click again to pick up the ball and place in another spot on the table.
What's Going On?
When the table is not spinning, you can roll the ball from the center to the outer edge in a straight line. When the ball is rolled from the center to the outer edge on a spinning table, the table's movement causes it to follow a curved path.
The surface speed of the spinning table near its center is not as great as it is at the edge, so the ball, as it moves toward the edge, speeds up in the direction of the table's rotation. This action deflects the ball from a straight-line path. By the time the ball reaches the edge, the speed (velocity) of the ball and acceleration rate are at their height. Thus the ball path curves the most at this point.
This effect is the same even when you spin the table the other way. Also, the slower you spin the table, the less pronounced the effect is on the path of the ball.
There's More!
The Coriolis effect was first identified by the mid 19th century French scientist and mathematician, Gaspard de Coriolis.
