inertial flow [i`nǝr·shǝl `flō] FLUID MECHANICS Flow in which no external forces are exerted on a fluid. GEOPHYSICS Frictionless flow in a geopotential surface in which there is no pressure gradient; the centrifugal and Coriolis accelerations must therefore be equal and opposite, and the constant inertial wind speed Vi is given by Vi = fR, where f is the Coriolis parameter and R the radius of curvature of the path. |