- #1
GRB 080319B
- 108
- 0
Is precession caused by uneven mass distribution in the gyroscope, or by an uneven supporting surface, causing a couple to form (i.e., normal force and gravitation force start to have non-zero cross products)? Is precession analogous to circular motion, the angular momentum vector is having its direction changed by the applied torqued in precession as the linear momentum vector has its direction changed by the centripetal force? As the angular momentum is decreased through friction, the gyroscope can't maintain precession rotation at that radius and translates downward (falls) in a spiral fashion. Is this analogous to the common circular motion experiment with a mass being rotated around a hollow tube by the gravitational force of a stopper, and when you stop rotating, friction reduces the linear speed of the mass, and the mass falls (spirals) into the center because the force is constant, so the radius of rotation must decrease. Is the gyroscope following an orbit as it descends toward Earth?