Title: Coriolis force
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - Coriolis force
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.08583
Status: current

Definition
In vibrational theory, the motion of a polyatomic molecule is usually initially regarded as the independent superposition of a rotation and a vibration, with the vibration considered in a coordinate system that rotates with the molecule. This initial treatment must be corrected for centrifugal forces and for Coriolis forces. The Coriolis force on an atom is given by \(F_{\rm{Coriolis}} = 2m v_{\rm{a}} \omega \sin \varphi\), where \(m\) is the mass of the atom, \(v_{\rm{a}}\) is its apparent velocity in the rotating coordinate system, \(\omega\) is the angular velocity of the coordinate system, and \(\varphi\) is the angle between the velocity vector and the axis of rotation.

Note
SI unit: \(\ce{N}\).

Source
- PAC, 2021, 93, 647. 'Glossary of methods and terms used in analytical spectroscopy (IUPAC Recommendations 2019)' on page 742 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2019-0203)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08583/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08583/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08583/xml

Citation: Citation: 'Coriolis force' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.08583
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Accessed: 2026-06-30T16:40:06+00:00