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This inertial effect, carrying you away from the center of rotation if there is no centripetal force to cause circular motion, is put to good use in centrifuges (see [link] ). A centrifuge spins a sample very rapidly, as mentioned earlier in this chapter. Viewed from the rotating frame of reference, the fictitious centrifugal force throws particles outward, hastening their sedimentation. The greater the angular velocity, the greater the centrifugal force. But what really happens is that the inertia of the particles carries them along a line tangent to the circle while the test tube is forced in a circular path by a centripetal force.

A test tube is fitted in a centrifuge. The centrifuge is rotating toward the left. The inertial force vector on a particle inside the liquid is directed toward the left. The  centrifugal force is directed toward the bottom of the test tube. The angular velocity is marked as omega.
Centrifuges use inertia to perform their task. Particles in the fluid sediment come out because their inertia carries them away from the center of rotation. The large angular velocity of the centrifuge quickens the sedimentation. Ultimately, the particles will come into contact with the test tube walls, which will then supply the centripetal force needed to make them move in a circle of constant radius.

Let us now consider what happens if something moves in a frame of reference that rotates. For example, what if you slide a ball directly away from the center of the merry-go-round, as shown in [link] ? The ball follows a straight path relative to Earth (assuming negligible friction) and a path curved to the right on the merry-go-round’s surface. A person standing next to the merry-go-round sees the ball moving straight and the merry-go-round rotating underneath it. In the merry-go-round’s frame of reference, we explain the apparent curve to the right by using a fictitious force, called the Coriolis force    , that causes the ball to curve to the right. The fictitious Coriolis force can be used by anyone in that frame of reference to explain why objects follow curved paths and allows us to apply Newton’s Laws in non-inertial frames of reference.

In the figure, a child on a merry-go-round is shown. A person slides a ball from the center from the point A toward the point B. The path covered by the ball on the merry-go-round is shown, which is a curved path. The ball reaches a point away from the point B.
Looking down on the counterclockwise rotation of a merry-go-round, we see that a ball slid straight toward the edge follows a path curved to the right. The person slides the ball toward point B, starting at point A. Both points rotate to the shaded positions (A’ and B’) shown in the time that the ball follows the curved path in the rotating frame and a straight path in Earth’s frame.

Up until now, we have considered Earth to be an inertial frame of reference with little or no worry about effects due to its rotation. Yet such effects do exist—in the rotation of weather systems, for example. Most consequences of Earth’s rotation can be qualitatively understood by analogy with the merry-go-round. Viewed from above the North Pole, Earth rotates counterclockwise, as does the merry-go-round in [link] . As on the merry-go-round, any motion in Earth’s northern hemisphere experiences a Coriolis force to the right. Just the opposite occurs in the southern hemisphere; there, the force is to the left. Because Earth’s angular velocity is small, the Coriolis force is usually negligible, but for large-scale motions, such as wind patterns, it has substantial effects.

Practice Key Terms 4

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Source:  OpenStax, College physics arranged for cpslo phys141. OpenStax CNX. Dec 23, 2014 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11718/1.4
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