Putting a Spin on Mechanics — Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis

Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis advanced the understanding of basic mechanics by literally turning the table in the game of billiards. Coriolis taught classical mechanics at the time when mathematicians and engineers were still trying to figure out how to describe the workings of machines. It was Coriolis who introduced the concept of work, as the cumulation of mechanical energy, and the mathematical definition for “live force,” which we now refer to as kinetic energy. While Coriolis certainly was not the first to use the billiards to demonstrate the physics of interactions among moving objects, the rigor Coriolis brought to his analysis of the game exceeded any done before or since.

In a fat text book published in 1835, Coriolis presented a detailed mathematical analysis of billiards from every possible angle. “Admirable, yes, but absurd! No one will read it!” his critics taunted. Then, having arrived at the brink of absurdity, Coriolis took his analysis one step further. What would happen, he wondered metaphorically, if the billiard table itself was in motion? How would a ball move if, for example, the table rotates about its vertical axis? Thus, Coriolis discovered the phenomenon of the Coriolis force for which he is most famous.

Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis is one of the 72 engineers and scientists named on the Eiffel Tower.