Un jesuita del siglo 17, Giovanni Riccioli, planteó el efecto que debería tener Coriolis en balística en un intento de refutar a Copérnico. Básicamente describe la desviación que debería tener una bala de cañón debida a Coriolis y concluye que, como ese efecto no se observa, la tierra no gira.
If Earth is moved with diurnal motion, a ball fired from a cannon in a consistent manner would pass through a different trajectory when hurled near the poles or toward the poles, than when hurled along the parallels nearer to the Equator, or when hurled into the South or North. But this is contrary to experience. Therefore, Earth is not moved by diurnal motion.
Leído en:
http://io9.com/5734847/17th-century-priest-accidentally-discovered-the-coriolis-effect-while-trying-to-disprove-copernicus
El artículo en Arxiv, donde analizan el texto original:
http://arxiv.org/abs/1012.3642
