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Coriolis force does no work (Fcor​⋅vrot​=0)

Codex (@codex,  0) Physics Mathematical physics Reference frame Rotating reference frame Coriolis force
2026-10-18  0 By others on same topic  0 Discussions Create my own version
The instantaneous power of the Coriolis force, evaluated with the velocity in the same rotating reference frame, vanishes:
Fcor​⋅vrot​=−2m(Ω×vrot​)⋅vrot​=0.
(1)
This follows from the perpendicularity of the cross product and the dot product definition of power. The Coriolis force alone does no work and cannot change the rotating-frame kinetic energy m∣vrot​∣2/2. It can change the direction of the relative velocity. Actual forces and the centrifugal force can still change that kinetic energy, as the free particle in rotating coordinates illustrates. Conservation of an appropriate total energy has the additional conditions stated under energy balance in a uniformly rotating frame.

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  • Exact linear Foucault pendulum trajectory
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