Coriolis, Gustave Gaspard de (1792–1843)

French physicist. In 1835 he discovered the Coriolis effect, which governs the movements of winds in the atmosphere and currents in the ocean. Investigating the movements of moving parts in machines and other systems relative to the fixed parts, Coriolis explained how the rotation of the Earth causes objects moving freely over the surface to follow a curved path relative to the surface. Coriolis was also the first to derive formulas expressing kinetic energy and mechanical work.

Coriolis was born in Paris and studied there, graduating in highway engineering. He was professor of mechanics at the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures 1829–36 and then at the Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées. In 1838 he became director of studies at the Ecole Polytechnique.

From 1829, Coriolis was concerned that proper terms and definitions should be introduced into mechanics. He succeeded in establishing the use of the word ‘work’ as a technical term in mechanics, defining it in terms of the displacement of force through a certain distance.