Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 2 8B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
If is measured in the rotating frame, its inertial velocity is . The masses producing the gravitational field are stationary in this frame, so their potential energy is a time-independent function . Thus kinetic minus potential energy gives the stated LagrangianPut . ThenSubstitution in the Euler-Lagrange equation yieldsThe extra terms are the Coriolis acceleration, Euler acceleration, and centrifugal acceleration of a rotating reference frame.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ia Paper 4 11C i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Let be a Cartesian basis fixed in the rotating frame. A vector then satisfiesbecause a derivative of a body-fixed basis vector is . Applying this transport formula twice to gives, for constant ,The second and third terms correspond to Coriolis acceleration and centrifugal acceleration in the rotating description.
For the bead, use cylindrical unit vectors with upward andProjection of along the wire tangent eliminates the smooth-wire normal force and gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 316 2 iii Solution 2026-09-28
Multiply the three equations by and add. The Coriolis acceleration does no work because its two terms cancel, leavingEquivalently, the radiation-modified Jacobi constant is
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 316 2 ii Solution 2026-09-28
In a frame with unit angular velocity, transforming the acceleration introduces the Coriolis acceleration and centrifugal acceleration. Radiation reduces the attraction of by the factor , soWith the effective potentialits Cartesian components are exactlyThis is the photogravitational restricted three-body problem.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 321 3 a Solution 2026-09-28
For the Keplerian shearing sheet velocity , its material acceleration vanishes because . The component of the Coriolis acceleration is , which is cancelled by with the signs in the stated equation; constant supplies no force. The flow is also incompressible.
Let and . Axisymmetry removes , while . Keeping first-order terms givesDifferentiate the momentum equations in time and use incompressibility to eliminate . The radial velocity obeysFor a plane wave proportional to , this gives the inertial wave dispersion relation
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ia Paper 4 10C a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The term is the Coriolis acceleration, and is the centrifugal acceleration. With , the Cartesian components are
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 321 3 c Solution 2026-09-28
For , advection vanishes and the Coriolis acceleration exactly cancels , so constant and complete the equilibrium.
Write perturbations with . Incompressibility gives . It also makes the quadratic terms and vanish exactly; the background-advection terms vanish because . The amplitude equations areEliminating the amplitudes yields the inertia-gravity wave dispersion relation
For , , so the group velocity isIt is perpendicular to and hence to the phase velocity. An inertial wave packet transports energy along beams lying in its phase surfaces.
If and , incompressibility suppresses vertical motion and : horizontal epicyclic motion and rotation dominate. If , radial motion is suppressed and : vertical buoyancy oscillations dominate. Intermediate ratios give hybrid inertia-gravity waves.
If , exponential growth occurs exactly whenOnly modes with sufficiently large radial wavenumber permit enough vertical displacement for unstable buoyancy to overcome rotational restoration; the other orientations remain stabilized by the Coriolis force.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 333 1 i Solution 2026-09-28
The first two equations are horizontal momentum balances: local acceleration plus the Coriolis acceleration equals the pressure-gradient force. The third is linearized mass conservation: convergence raises the free surface, represented by , while divergence lowers it. The constant is the long-wave gravity-wave speed.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 321 1 b Solution 2026-09-28
For a Keplerian shearing sheet, the shear rate is and the shearing-sheet tidal potential isA uniform steady solution isThe Coriolis acceleration of this linear shear flow balances the radial tidal acceleration. The only nonzero background component of the viscous stress tensor that matters is , which is spatially constant. Hence : a local uniform patch has no stress gradient or torque divergence to drive an accretion flow.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 321 2 c i Solution 2026-09-25
For the axisymmetric perturbation, defineLinearization about the uniform dust density and drifting equilibrium givesThe factors and are the Coriolis acceleration and Keplerian-shear couplings. Applying to the continuity equation and using the three momentum equations eliminates . All remaining forcing terms are proportional to , sowhere is independent of time.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 321 3 c i Solution 2026-09-25
Let and define the derivative following the background Keplerian shear byThe linearized continuity and momentum equations areThe coefficient combines the background shear with the Coriolis acceleration.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 333 1 a Solution 2026-09-28
At latitude , resolve the planetary angular velocity asFor velocity , the Coriolis acceleration isThe traditional approximation drops the terms involving the horizontal rotation component . The retained horizontal force is thereforeIts direct velocity-scale requirement isFor an incompressible flow, , so a sufficient condition istogether with the small aspect ratio that makes hydrostatic pressure the leading vertical momentum balance. The approximation consequently becomes delicate near the equator.
The beta plane is the local Taylor expansionwhereand is the planetary radius. It requires a local Cartesian region,and . Away from the equator, treating the variation as a perturbation of an f-plane also requires ; near the equator one instead retains the linear term as the leading Coriolis parameter.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 333 1 b Solution 2026-09-28
Assume an inviscid homogeneous ocean, no horizontal pressure gradient, and no wind stress. Horizontal uniformity then removes advective acceleration, and the parcel equations on a beta plane arewith and .
Since , integration from the stated initial data givesThis is conservation of the parcel's zonal canonical momentum: its zonal speed records the meridionally accumulated Coriolis acceleration. Multiplying the two momentum equations by and and adding givesThus kinetic energy and speed are constant:Eliminating gives the required ordinary differential equation
For , the equator is at . ThereThe parcel must encounter a meridional turning point before reaching the equator if it is to remain strictly in the Northern Hemisphere. The energy relation therefore requiresor . Equality is the limiting trajectory that reaches the equator with zero meridional speed.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 321 3 b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 314 2 b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Linearize the inviscid momentum equation in the uniformly rotating frame. The Coriolis acceleration is , and the equilibrium pressure gradient cancels gravity. For perturbations proportional to , the horizontal components areThe vertical component is
For the incompressible velocity , in a shearing sheet, advection produces and the Coriolis acceleration produces . Including the radial tide gives . A material ellipse has . A vortex patch is immersed in surrounding fluid, so this pressure need not vanish on its boundary; imposing that condition would describe a different free-boundary problem.
Pressureless dust fluid in a shearing sheet 2026-10-06
A dilute dust component can be approximated as a pressureless fluid with velocity and surface density of a disk . In a gas velocity , linear drag force gives acceleration for positive aerodynamic stopping time . Its equations include Coriolis acceleration, the shearing-sheet tidal potential, and . Neglecting gas backreaction is justified only when the prescribed-gas approximation is appropriate. Strong orbit crossing or appreciable dust velocity dispersion can invalidate the single-valued pressureless-fluid description.
Rossby number Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
The Rossby number compares inertial acceleration with Coriolis acceleration. For speed , horizontal length , and Coriolis parameter , it is . Small Rossby number supports geostrophic balance and the quasi-geostrophic approximation.
Rotating fluid Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
A rotating fluid is described in a rotating reference frame, where the Coriolis acceleration and centrifugal acceleration supplement the physical forces.