Coriolis force and predicted effects?

> I have a few questions that I hope you won't mind answering,
> relating to Coriolis force, and how it would affect normal
> activities that people carry out.
>
> I'm thinking that simple little things like placing a pen on a desk
> would be very different, you couldn't just drop it down, you'd have
> to set it down to prevent it ending up somewhere other than where
> you wanted it.

Coriolis forces only depends on how fast the habitat rotates (rotations
per second). Large habitats rotate slower than small ones. Lower gravity
habitats have lower rotation rates too.

Basically, if the habitat hasn't rotated much before the object hits the
ground, then you don't need to worry about coriolis forces much.

> And this would affect every object, as well as every
> person, aboard, so how would people in space handle everyday
> activities in that situation?

In practice it may be noticeable, but it's not that bad. Things might
land half an inch away from where they would be on earth, but that's
all. If you want to find out what it's like, get on a childs roundabout
and spin it really slowly, at about 1 or 2 turns per minute. Then move
your head around, bounce or roll a ball etc. etc. I really doubt you'd
notice it.

> Is Coriolis the only force that would act on people in a space
> colony?

No, the centrifugal force "artificial gravity" is *much* more significant.

p.s. yeah I know that the centrifugal force doesn't exist, and neither
does the coriolis force... they are both fictious forces; but try
telling that to a cyclone(!)

> Would it or any other 'force'(effect of rotation) act in
> different ways depending on the size of the space habitat?

Big good. Small bad. Below a 100m radius things get a bit awkward if you
want 1g at the rim.