Why Does the Wind Blow?

Okay, so this is a seemingly easy question. But in reality, the direction of global scale winds on earth are NOT that easy to understand. The motion of the earth forces winds in directions opposite to what you may think. This is known as the Coriolis Effect. After an intricate email question from a reader, I decided to give this often misunderstood concept a day in the sun. I have explained the idea in both words and images. In addition, you can view Coriolis Effect animations and videos which visually reinforce the topic. There is even a Coriolis computer game to keep you entertained! Then the top 10 lesson plans on Coriolis are presented for physics and earth science teachers. Read more...