In meteorology, Buys Ballot's law may be expressed as follows: In the Northern Hemisphere, if a person stands with his back to the wind, the low pressure area will be on his left. This is because wind travels counterclockwise around low pressure zones in the Northern Hemisphere. It is approximately true in the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, and is reversed in the Southern Hemisphere, but the angle between the pressure gradient force and wind is not a right angle in low latitudes.
Famous quotes containing the words buys, ballot and/or law:
“Most of the money given by rich people in “charity” is made up of conscience money, “ransom,” political bribery, and bids for titles.... One buys moral credit by signing a cheque, which is easier than turning a prayer wheel.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“I do not think the mere extension of the ballot a panacea for all the ills of our national life. What we need to-day is not simply more voters, but better voters.”
—Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825–1911)
“It seems to be a law in American life that whatever enriches us anywhere except in the wallet inevitably becomes uneconomic.”
—Russell Baker (b. 1925)