Physics Stack Exchange
Physics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [gyroscopes]

A spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rotation is free to assume any orientation by itself. When rotating, the orientation of this axis is unaffected by tilting or rotation of the mounting, according to the conservation of angular momentum. These devices are used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity.

298 questions
8
votes
2 answers

how can you keep a gyroscope turning?

I'm trying to understand how do gyroscopes and cmgs used for navigating keep on spinning even though there's friction. Any engine/pushing mechanism I can think of will restrict the gyro's rotor to a fixed direction and defeat the purpose... how is…
ihadanny
  • 215
6
votes
4 answers

MEMS gyroscope and orientation

I'm trying to understand how a MEMS gyroscope can give you orientation. The question may not make any sense, I may have some misunderstandings about the different topics... From the Wikipedia page about gyroscope: A gyroscope is a device for…
Isaac
  • 61
4
votes
1 answer

Gyroscope in an airplane following the curve of the Earth

This video from a high-profile skepticism channel perports to debunk a flat-Earth nut. But, Greg’s explaination of why the artificial horizon instrument on an aircraft works properly seems to me to be horribly wrong. In fact, I think the nutjob has…
JDługosz
  • 5,297
3
votes
3 answers

Are gyroscopes the only way to maintain the orientation?

Gyroscope is quite popular, one can even find it in iphone etc. But, is such Gyroscope the only way? are there any other ways to build machine that to measure or maintain the orientation?
athos
  • 405
2
votes
0 answers

How to measure bias instability of gyroscope with Allen deviation that has strange end behavior?

I have some simulated data from a model of an IMU's gyroscopes. I am trying to use Allan deviation to verify that we have correctly modelled various sources of error in the sensor data. I was able to verify angular random walk, and have now moved on…
rocksNwaves
  • 133
  • 4
2
votes
1 answer

What happens to a gyro inside a gyro?

What would present for a gyroscope within a larger gyroscope? Any interesting behaviours? Thanks
O A
  • 57
2
votes
2 answers

Gyroscope design: does extra mass towards the axis of rotation help or harm the gyroscopic effect?

I am a hobbyist metalworker and I'm working on some gyroscopes for family for X-mas, and realized that there was something I did not understand completely with regard to gyroscopes, and while there is lots of information online, I'm struggling to…
Joshua West
  • 21
1
vote
1 answer

Gyroscope bombardment

Let's say I have a spinning steel ball that I have somehow managed to be completely free in all axes of movement. If I fire a BB at it with enough force on a north-south (to the ball) angle, what will happen. Will it start to wobble by a certain…
Arlen Beiler
  • 321
  • 3
  • 4
  • 18
1
vote
1 answer

Could a weighted ball hung from center of cockpit serve as basic bank indicator?

I have always wondered what that string in the windshield of a glider was used for: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaw_string Got me thinking. If you hung a weighted string from inside the cockpit (centered like an air freshener hung from the rear…
Alex.Barylski
  • 113
  • 2
1
vote
0 answers

What would happen to a spinning gyroscope drifting through space?

Imagine we set a gyroscope spinning and pointed in a certain direction and then set it adrift in space. The gyroscope drifts through space for billions of years and eventually it drifts back to us. Assume it stays spinning without losing any…
Coyote62901
  • 195
1
vote
0 answers

How do I work out the needed speed of the rotors in a Dual Gimbal CMG, as well as the needed tilt angle; for an object to maintain balance?

I've been looking at methods of self-balancing an object and came across this: http://litmotors.com/c1/. I was wondering how one would calculate the needed speed of each rotor to rotate at, and the tilt angle of these rotors for it to maintain its…
Mattazo
  • 11
1
vote
2 answers

If gyroscopes are used as resistance devices, where does energy put in go?

If two gyroscopes were to be started with parallel angular momentums, linked by a rotating tube (one perpendicular to the axle), then a second pair added that is the exact reverse such that it has opposite gyroscopic precession, the two linked such…
sbergeron
  • 123
1
vote
0 answers

How do bikes stay upright?

Possible Duplicate: Why doesn't the bike fall if going with a high speed? How does a bike stay upright? I know there are various theories involving castor effects, and gyroscopic motion but as far as I'm aware no one knows for certain how a bike…
AncientSwordRage
  • 530
1
vote
1 answer

Gyroscope motion: Why is $\vec{\Omega}$ vertical?

Since I can't sketch here I am referring to: Feynmanlectures-Gyroscope Assume that you have got a gyroscope (as in Figure 20-3 in the link) that pivoted and can turn around any axis. Let $\vec{L}$ be the the angular momentum of the gyroscope…
user50224
  • 517
0
votes
2 answers

how to determine direction of gyroscopic couple on car?

How can I determine the direction of the force acting due to gyroscopic couple on a car's wheels when it is taking a turn to it's left side?
M.Tarun
  • 435
1
2