Back to basics: Coriolis: Part 2 — The Coriolis force according to Coriolis

In his professional activity Gaspard Gustave Coriolis (Fig. 1) was never concerned with the atmosphere, not even with the rotating earth. His interest was to promote the Industrial Revolution in early nineteenth-century France. It was during his study of machines, their forces and energy exchanges, that he made his discovery of the deflective force. Coriolis was both a victim and an offspring of the French Revolution. He was born on 21 May in the fateful year 1792 in Paris to a small aristocratic family. His father, Jean-BaptisteElzear, who had been a captain in Louis XVI’s guard, was ruined by the political turmoil and, to save his own life, had to flee to Nantes, where he became a businessman. The young Gaspard showed early remarkable mathematical gifts. At 18 he was admitted to 1’Ecole Polytechnique and at 20 he continued as an engineering student at 1’Ecole Ponts et Chaussees. He showed great talent as a teacher, and in 1816 was employed by the school (see Persson 1998a,b for more details about Coriolis’s life).