Describe how the conservation of angular momentum plays a role in the formation of a jet stream.?
What will be the ideal response?
ANSWER: Angular momentum is always conserved, so the product of the quantity mvr at one time will equal the numerical quantity mvr at some later time. Hence, a decrease in radius must produce an increase in speed and vice versa. When heated air parcels rise from the equatorial surface and approach the tropopause, they spread laterally and begin to move poleward. Because of the curvature of the earth, poleward-moving air constantly moves closer to its axis of rotation (r decreases). Because angular momentum is conserved (and since the mass of air is unchanged), the decrease in radius must be compensated for by an increase in speed.
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