THE THEORY OF WINDS:
PART II - FUNDAMENTAL FORCES

Summer 2000

To briefly describe Newton's three laws of motion.
To describe the relationship between the observed winds and the horizontal atmospheric pressure field pattern, relating the spacing of isobars to the speed of wind.
To identify the various forces that could act upon an air parcel to initiate, maintain and modify atmospheric motion.
To explain why gravity only influences vertical motion and not horizontal motion of air.
To describe the factors that influence the magnitude and direction of the pressure gradient force and its components - the horizontal and vertical pressure gradient force.
To describe the influence of the Coriolis effect upon free-moving objects or fluids and list two factors that influence the magnitude of this effect.
To describe the effect of friction upon the speed and direction of the horizontal surface winds and identify two factors influencing the magnitude of the friction force.
To distinguish between centripetal force and centrifugal force and describe the factors that influence the magnitude and direction of the centripetal force.

The Forces & Wind module from Weather World 2010 (Univ. of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign). See especially animation in "Coriolis Force Section"

Educational resource unit (K-12) on air pressure from Nebraska Earth Science Education Network (NESEN):

Last revision 17 July 2000 (0235 UTC)

Produced by Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D.

Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI 53706

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