Inaugural Classical Mechanics Video

14 Dec 2023

Éamon Keating (second year Physics student) won the Inaugural Classical Mechanics Video of the Year Award for his video on the Coriolis Force.

The students in Second Year Classical Mechanics were tasked with making a video that showed the phenomenon known as the Coriolis Force. The Coriolis Force is a so-called fictitious force that arises when the motion of a body is considered from the point of view of a rotating frame rather than an inertial frame. It induces a curved path where one might have naïvely expected a straight path. The influence of this force can be quite pronouncedin large scale systems such as the earth as it rotates. In this case, probably the most famous example of the phenomenon is the formation of cyclones and hurricanes. Éamon’s video (which you will see below) shows the linear motion of an object when viewed from a non-rotating frame and then, cleverly, shows how this would look for someone at rest on the rotating turntable (which was designed and constructed by Éamon) by rotating the images so that the turntable appears to be at rest and instead everything else is rotating. The path of the object then appears be curved following the influence of the Coriolis force. Éamon is the inaugural winner of what is proposed to be an annual award for this module, and the photo shows him with his Certificate of Award and a cup marking his achievement.

Éamon was awarded this cert from Dr. Bryan Kelleher (as shown in picture above).