Questions about the Coriolis Effect

> My questions about the coriolis effect centers on the different effects
> that an individual might experience if "down" is at a right angle to the
> axis of rotation (as in a rotating habitat) rather than being aligned
> with the axis of rotation as in earth-based experiments.
>
> I realize that an occupant on a bicycle travelling circumferentially in
> the direction of rotation would feel somewhat heavier than one who's
> travelling in the opposite direction. What effect would be noticed by an
> occupant moving "sideways" across the "floor" of the habitat (assuming
> the floor is, essentially, a circular ribbon of constant radius inside
> the torus or cylinder). Would the coriolis effect on his inner ear cause
> dizziness or nausea? Would there even be a coriolis effect in this case?
> Would a smaller radius of rotation and a greater rate of rotation cause
> a person to get dizzy who just gets out of bed and stands up?
>
> I suspect that the first rotating stations will necessarily be of the
> smaller variety due to the sheer cost of construction. Perhaps we'll
> have to wait until then to get definitive answers to these questions.
>
> Chris
>

Sounds to me that you are talking about "precession" not the coriolis effect. Being more then one type of precession it sounds to me that you are thinking of the form that I learned in helicopter flight training, which dictates that in any rotational mass such as a gyro you will get gyroscopic precession, and any influence to the rotational mass will show 90 degrees after in the direction of rotation. Thus the control linkages to a helicopter are set 90 degrees in advance of the rotation of the main rotor blades.

As I know of the coriolis effect it is when mass is brought closer to the axis of given rotational body it's rotation picks up speed. Thus the reason when an ice skater is spinning on the ice and she brings her arms in her spin speeds up. You can test this your self all you need is an office chair, give yourself a good spin, and use your arms to speed your spin up and slow it down just by stretching them out or bringing them closer to you body...