ESCI B.S3.O1.A5 Coriolis Effect

Start here to get a basic understanding of the Coriolis Effect and then we'll build from there: 

ESCI B.S3.O1.A5 Coriolis Effect VID Links to an external site.

The Coriolis Effect is probably one of the most misunderstood principles in Earth Science, and yet it is really quite simple: Because of the rotation of the Earth large-scale air movements are deflected to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and are deflected to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. This is illustrated below: 

However, when we see satellite images of hurricanes and cyclones they appear to not follow this rule. In fact, They seem to move in exactly the opposite direction. Behold:

Hurricane Rita near Florida (Northern Hemisphere)	Cyclone Gafilo near Madagascar (Southern Hemisphere)

Having trouble seeing the direction of spin? Well, here is a video of  Hurricane Sandy moving along the East Coast of the United States:

ESCI B.S3.O1.A5 Dawn to Dusk-Hurricane Sandy VID Links to an external site.

If the winds were moving out from the center like in a high-pressure center this would make sense, but the winds travel toward the center of a low-pressure system. So how do they turn counter-clockwise if they deflect to the right? Take a look at these two pictures to see how it works:

The black paths represent the movement direction of the wind.
The blue paths represent the force towards the center caused by the low-pressure gradient.
The red paths represent the deflection force to the right caused by the Coriolis Effect.

Notice that the winds bend to the right until they reach a point where the inward pull of the low-pressure center is balanced by the deflection to the right caused by the Coriolis Effect and then they just follow a counter-clockwise path around the low-pressure center.

And that is how the Coriolis Effect works in the Northern Hemisphere. Remember, in the Southern Hemisphere everything is reversed: Movement deflects to the left and low-pressure systems turn clockwise.

And now for the fact that everyone "knows" that simply isn't true:

The Coriolis Effect makes toilets and drains to spin the water counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

WRONG!

The Coriolis Effect only affects large-scale, long-term phenomena like wind, ocean currents, airplanes, and missiles. Your sink or bathtub is simply too small to be affected.

Your Assignment: Armed with the knowledge that small-scale flows aren't affected by the Coriolis Effect, I want you to watch this amazing video below, then write a few paragraphs explaining why this video is a fraud and explaining how this fake effect was made. Be sure and explain why the Coriolis Effect doesn't affect such small-scale demonstrations.

(If you need some help, take a look at this website for more details, but remember to close the website and write your responses in your own words. No Plagiarizing!)

ESCI B.S3.O1.A5 The Bad Coriolis Effect VID  Links to an external site.