Re: forces on the winds

[John Denker <jsd@MONMOUTH.COM>]

At 10:08 AM 9/12/99 -0700, Leigh Palmer wrote:
> *Both* [coriolis and centrifugal] forces are balanced
> by dissipative forces if the wind is steady.

Uhhh, that's not right.

Throughout most of the atmosphere (except near the equator) the large-scale
winds generally flow *along* the isobars, i.e. perpendicular to the
pressure gradient, i.e. perpendicular to the driving force.

That's pretty strong evidence that the coriolis force is dominant and
dissipative forces are a minor complication.

Reference: For example: Encyclopedia Britannica, article on Climate and
Weather, especially figure 17 (world distribution of pressure and winds).
The physics (including friction) is discussed in conjunction with figures
19, 20, and 21.