Hurricanes Without Forces

Large-scale atmospheric structure as inertial memory in a rotating Earth frame

Scope: Application
Mode: Science (Σ-clean)
Primary Concept: Inertial organization under frame rotation

1. The Pressure-Gradient Myth

Hurricanes are commonly described as air accelerating inward under pressure-gradient forces, deflected by Coriolis effects. This language implies active causes pushing air into rotation.

The observed structure does not require this assumption.

2. The Rotating Earth Frame

All atmospheric motion occurs in a rotating, translating Earth frame. Air parcels are transported while retaining velocity and angular momentum memory.

Rotation is not imposed on the air. It is inherited from the frame.

3. Inertial Organization

As warm air rises and expands, it does not need to be forced into rotation. Conservation of transported angular momentum organizes flow into curved trajectories automatically.

The storm is a memory structure, not a driven system.

4. Why Rotation Intensifies

Radial contraction under ascent tightens existing inertial circulation. No additional cause is required.

L = m r^2 \Omega \quad (transported)

5. The Eye Is a Closure Artifact

The hurricane eye is not carved out by balancing forces. It is the region where transported flow closes most efficiently under rotation.

Minimal shear, maximal memory retention.

6. Coriolis as Visibility Condition

The Coriolis effect does not generate storms. It determines whether inertial curvature is visible in the Earth frame.

This is why hurricanes do not form near the equator.

7. Why Force Models Still Predict Well

Force-based fluid models encode inertial transport into pressure and force terms. This reproduces behavior numerically while obscuring causation.

8. The Inertia Encyclopedia Position

Hurricanes are inertial memory structures organized by Earth’s rotating frame.

They persist, intensify, and decay through transport and non-closure — not through applied forces.