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Geodetic Model For Teaching Motion On The Earth's Spheroidal Surface, Boyd F. Edwards, John M. Edwards
Geodetic Model For Teaching Motion On The Earth's Spheroidal Surface, Boyd F. Edwards, John M. Edwards
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We explore the forces that shape our spheroidal Earth and the forces that govern the motion of a puck that slides without friction on its surface. The Earth's stable spheroidal shape (apart from small-scale surface features) is determined by balancing the gravitational forces that hold it together against the centrifugal forces that try to tear it apart. The motion of a puck on its surface differs profoundly from motion on a sphere because the Earth's spheroidal deformations neutralize the centrifugal and gravitational forces on the puck, leaving only the Coriolis force to govern the motion. Yet the Earth's spheroidal deformations …