If a stone is dropped from a balloon on a still day, does the stone fall directly below the balloon, or to the west or east of it?

Anybody interested in the Coriolis force (not Coriolis effect and not fictuous force) could read http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/Bad/BadFAQ/BadCoriolisFAQ.html

PS: The stone will fall slightly east, due to the higher angular velocity (Not due to Coriolis).

Posted by Hugo on 2005-07-10 19:57:59