an apparent deflective force acting on a moving object, as an airplane, that is being observed from a rotating system, as the surface of the earth: it is proportional to the speed of the object and is in a direction perpendicular to its direction of motion
Origin:
after G. G. de Coriolis (1792-1843), Fr mathematician
See Coriolis force in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
A pseudo force used mathematically to describe motion, as of aircraft or cloud formations, relative to a noninertial, uniformly rotating frame of reference such as the earth.
Origin:
Origin: After Gaspard G. de Coriolis (1792-1843), French mathematician