Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge / 2019 / Paper 2 / Section B / B8 / a

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.