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An inertial force is an additional term used to express Newton's second law in an accelerating reference frame. For origin acceleration $\mathbf{A}$ and axes with angular velocity $\mathbf{\Omega }$, the apparent force on a particle isHere $\mathbf{r}$ and ${\mathbf{v}}^{\prime }$ are measured relative to that frame. The rotation terms are the Coriolis force, Euler force and centrifugal force. Their values depend on the frame rather than on an additional physical interaction.

Let a coordinate frame rotate with angular velocity $\mathbf{\Omega }$ relative to an inertial frame. For any vector $\mathbf{u}$,Applying this twice to position, with coincident nonaccelerating origins, givesNewton's second law written using rotating coordinates therefore contains the Coriolis forceThe other inertial corrections are the centrifugal force and, for changing rotation rate, the Euler force. An accelerating origin introduces an additional translational fictitious force.

The Coriolis force depends on velocity and is perpendicular to it, so ${\mathbf{F}}_C\cdot {\mathbf{v}}_{\mathrm{rotating}}=0$: the Coriolis force does no work in the rotating frame. It bends trajectories without directly changing their rotating-frame speed. It is absent for motion parallel to the rotation axis.

For locally horizontal motion on Earth at latitude $\lambda$, take $x$ east, $y$ north and $z$ up. Keeping the vertical component $\Omega \sin \lambda$ givesHorizontal motion is deflected right in the northern hemisphere and left in the southern hemisphere. In the ideal absence of other horizontal forces these equations give inertial circles with angular frequency $|f|$. The same velocity-dependent correction explains the precession of a Foucault pendulum, whose precession-rate magnitude is $\Omega |\sin \lambda |$. Terrestrial vertical motions also involve Earth's horizontal rotation component, so the reduced horizontal equations are not the full force law.

Let the rotating frame have origin acceleration ${\mathbf{A}}_0$ and angular velocity $\mathbf{\Omega }(t)$ relative to an inertial frame. For a vector referred to the moving axes, the transport rule isApply it twice to position. With rotating-frame velocity $\mathbf{v}$ and acceleration ${\mathbf{a}}_R$,Thus Newton's equation expressed in the rotating frame isThe added terms are translational, Coriolis, Euler and centrifugal fictitious forces. They reflect the frame's acceleration, rather than additional interactions with nearby objects.

The centrifugal force points outward from the rotation axis and, for constant $\mathbf{\Omega }$, has potential $-m|\mathbf{\Omega }\times \mathbf{r}{|}^2/2$. The Coriolis force is perpendicular to velocity, so does no work on the particle measured in that rotating frame; it changes direction rather than speed directly. The Euler force is present when the frame's rotation rate or direction changes.

On Earth, gravity and centrifugal acceleration combine into effective gravity. For slow horizontal motion at latitude $\lambda$, the vertical component of Earth's rotation gives Coriolis parameter $f=2\Omega \sin \lambda$: an initially northward motion deflects eastward in the northern hemisphere. This supplies a useful local explanation of rotating flows and Foucault precession. A bucket of rotating liquid illustrates the centrifugal potential: its steady free surface is an equipotential of $gz-{\Omega }^2{r}^2/2$, giving $z={\Omega }^2{r}^2/(2g)+\mathrm{constant}$. These equations require a declared frame; adding a centrifugal force while retaining inertial-frame acceleration would count the same kinematic effect twice.

Newton's second law takes its familiar form $m\mathbf{a}=\mathbf{F}$ in an inertial frame. Axes fixed to a turning apparatus or to the Earth form a rotating reference frame. Extra inertial forces account for the acceleration of these coordinates. Their values depend on the chosen reference frame; physical interactions such as gravity, tension and contact forces must still be included separately.

Let the rotating origin have inertial acceleration $\mathbf{A}$, and let its axes have angular velocity $\mathbf{\Omega }(t)$. For any vector $\mathbf{q}$, the rotating-frame derivative formula isEach rotating basis vector changes by $\mathbf{\Omega }\times {\mathbf{e}}_i$, which proves this rule by expanding $\mathbf{q}$ in that basis. Apply it twice to the position relative to the moving origin. With ${\mathbf{v}}^{\prime }$ and ${\mathbf{a}}^{\prime }$ measured in the rotating axes,Consequently the equation in the rotating reference frame isThe additional terms are the translational inertial force, Coriolis force, Euler force and centrifugal force, respectively. The last two simplify when the angular velocity is constant: the Euler force vanishes, while the other rotation terms remain.

The centrifugal force points away from the rotation axis. If ${\mathbf{r}}_{\perp }$ is the perpendicular displacement from that axis, thenFor uniform rotation it has potential energyA mass at rest relative to a turntable can therefore be described as having an inward tension or friction balancing its outward centrifugal force. In an inertial frame, the inward physical force instead produces the required centripetal acceleration. These are two descriptions of the same motion; one must not insert the rotating-frame outward term into the inertial equation as an additional physical interaction.

A rotating liquid gives a useful quantitative example. For a liquid in hydrostatic equilibrium relative to a vessel rotating uniformly about the vertical axis,Along the free surface the pressure is constant, so ${\Omega }^{2}sds-gdz=0$ andThe surface is a elliptic paraboloid. This is the balance of gravity and the centrifugal force in the rotating description. On the Earth, the same outward acceleration reduces effective gravity, most strongly at the equator, and contributes to the planet's equatorial bulge.

The Coriolis force depends on relative motion:It is perpendicular to both $\mathbf{\Omega }$ and ${\mathbf{v}}^{\prime }$, vanishes for motion along the rotation axis, and reverses when the relative velocity reverses. The dot product givesThus the Coriolis force does no work in the rotating reference frame: it changes the direction of motion rather than directly changing the rotating-frame kinetic energy. For example, on a horizontal turntable rotating anticlockwise as viewed from above, an outward-moving slider has a clockwise Coriolis acceleration, whereas an inward-moving slider has an anticlockwise one. The deflection can be observed by comparing a laboratory camera with a camera rotating with the table.

For slow horizontal motion on the Earth at latitude $\lambda$, keep the vertical component ${\Omega }_E\sin \lambda$ of its angular velocity. In east-north coordinates $(u,v)$ the horizontal Coriolis acceleration isIt deflects motion to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere. In large-scale atmospheric and oceanic motion it can balance a horizontal pressure gradient, giving geostrophic balance. With $\hat{\mathbf{z}}$ upward, the steady horizontal equation without friction isThe resulting velocity runs along lines of equal pressure. This approximation requires rotation to dominate local inertial changes; it is inappropriate close to the equator where $f$ tends to zero.

The Foucault pendulum gives another terrestrial example. In the small-angle approximation, its horizontal coordinates satisfyTo first order in the small ratio ${\Omega }_E/{\omega }_0$, the oscillation plane precesses relative to the ground at angular rate $-{\Omega }_E\sin \lambda$: clockwise in the northern hemisphere, zero at the equator, and one revolution per sidereal day at a pole. The Coriolis force explains this changing orientation without requiring energy input. Together these examples show why inertial forces are useful whenever the apparatus or environment supplies naturally rotating coordinates.