Rotating reference frame
special case of a non-inertial reference frame that is rotating relative to an inertial reference frame
A rotating frame of reference is a special case of a non-inertial reference frame that is rotating relative to an inertial reference frame. An everyday example of a rotating reference frame is the surface of the Earth.
Fictitious forces
All non-inertial reference frames exhibit fictitious forces; rotating reference frames are characterized by three:
the centrifugal force,
the Coriolis force,
and, for non-uniformly rotating reference frames,
the Euler force.
Scientists in a rotating box can measure the rotation speed and axis of rotation by measuring these fictitious forces. For example, Léon Foucault was able to show the Coriolis force that results from Earth's rotation using the Foucault pendulum. If Earth were to rotate many times faster, these fictitious forces could be felt by humans, as they are when on a spinning carousel.
Centrifugal force
In classical mechanics, centrifugal force is an outward force associated with rotation. Centrifugal force is one of several so-called pseudo-forces (also known as inertial forces), so named because, unlike real forces, they do not originate in interactions with other bodies situated in the environment of the particle upon which they act. Instead, centrifugal force originates in the rotation of the frame of reference within which observations are made.
Coriolis force
The mathematical expression for the Coriolis force appeared in an 1835 paper by a French scientist Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis in connection with hydrodynamics, and also in the tidal equations of Pierre-Simon Laplace in 1778.
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