What is Gyroscope: Definition and 172 Discussions

A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος gûros, "circle" and σκοπέω skopéō, "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rotation (spin axis) 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.
Gyroscopes based on other operating principles also exist, such as the microchip-packaged MEMS gyroscopes found in electronic devices (sometimes called gyrometers), solid-state ring lasers, fibre optic gyroscopes, and the extremely sensitive quantum gyroscope.Applications of gyroscopes include inertial navigation systems, such as in the Hubble Telescope, or inside the steel hull of a submerged submarine. Due to their precision, gyroscopes are also used in gyrotheodolites to maintain direction in tunnel mining. Gyroscopes can be used to construct gyrocompasses, which complement or replace magnetic compasses (in ships, aircraft and spacecraft, vehicles in general), to assist in stability (bicycles, motorcycles, and ships) or be used as part of an inertial guidance system.
MEMS gyroscopes are popular in some consumer electronics, such as smartphones.

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  1. V

    B Destabilize Gyroscope: How Much Force is Needed?

    When a Gyroscope is Running, How much Force need to apply it to destabilize(change in the orientation of the rotational axis, say 30 degrees from the original position) the gyroscope ?. For Example. When a Iron Wheel of diameter 30 cm and 10kg rotating at a speed of 1 rotation/sec in a...
  2. aladinlamp

    Gyroscope behaviour during 24 hours on earth

    Hi is my assumption correct ? precision gyroscope,sitting on the table during 24 hours, perfectly balanced, with free motion in all 3 axis, while still spinning using electric drive or compressed air to maintain motion... there should be relative motion between gyro and its stationary holder...
  3. G

    Translational approach to precession

    Hi. I'm trying to take a purely translational approach to precession (i.e. not using angular momentum and torque). I'm looking at a gyroscope that consists of four point masses on a cross and at a moment in time when one mass is at the topmost point (see sketch). I'm assuming a virtual...
  4. rushi121

    How can I detect whether driver is sitting in car or not?

    I want a device that can either stick on dashboard or like a key fob in driver pocket that will help to detect whether person is in car or not. Requirements: - Device must have a detector and siren. When detector detects that person is not in car should buzz siren. - Can be a device in car or...
  5. kontejnjer

    How Does Fermi Transport Describe a Gyroscope's Motion on a Rotating Disk?

    Homework Statement Describe the motion of a gyroscope with center of mass fixed on a rotating disk in coordinates of an observer which is at rest on the disk in the absence of gravity. Homework Equations The hint given was to somehow use Fermi transport, so I'm guessing: \mathbb F_u X=\nabla_u...
  6. J

    Calculating/simulating effect of mass changes in a gyroscope

    Can anybody suggest a free SW to simulate the behavior of a gyroscope upon adding/removing a mass in various places with respect its rotational axis and/or baricenter? It looks like it's quite complex to manually calculate or just "imagine" it. A gyro standing on a floor does behave in a...
  7. B

    Euler, Tait, Gyroscope: Rotations that cover it all

    I understand that a gyroscope undergoes precession, nutation, spin. And that the order of the rotations are such that the precession and spin share a common "local axis." I also understand there are, for totally different purposes, Euler angles to model rotations. In this case, the order of the...
  8. 24forChromium

    How Does Angular Impulse Affect a Rotating Cylinder's Momentum?

    Hopefully the image is self-explanatory, if not: A cylinder is rotating around its central axis with angular momentum L1; an angular impulse, ΔL is then added to the cylinder, perpendicularly with respect to L1. The hypothetical result is: the cylinder has one angular mometum at the end...
  9. 24forChromium

    A proper explanation of the "anti-gravity wheel"?

    Veritasium made a video on how a flight wheel seemed weightless when spinning: He then explained in a following video that the reason why it felt weightless is because while he lifted it, he was also swinging the wheel in the x-y plain, which, combined with the wheel's own rotation around the...
  10. S

    B Control moment gyroscope design - question

    Hi all, Like a lot of folk on here I am interested in the idea of a CMG used to stabalise a single track vehicle.<< Link to CMG info added by Mentor >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_moment_gyroscope I have designed this; the pink discs spin in opposite directions and the pendulum...
  11. A

    Effects of sawtooth wave on a gyroscope

    Hello. I'm looking for an advice in constructing a model where sawtooth modulated mechanical frequency perpendicularly applied to a rotating disc(gyroscope). Thought: the slow rise of the sawtooth will be less resisted by rotating disk than the quick drop. Thanks
  12. J-dizzal

    How Does the Angle of Tilt Affect Gyroscope Precession Rate?

    Homework Statement A top spins at 33 rev/s about an axis that makes an angle of 26° with the vertical. The mass of the top is 0.47 kg, its rotational inertia about its central axis is 5.0 x 10-4 kg·m2, and its center of mass is 3.1 cm from the pivot point. The spin is clockwise from an overhead...
  13. 24forChromium

    Will this gyroscope spin forever?

    I have been learning about precession lately. Suppose there is a pole with a rope on it (like the things they used to hang people), and there is a wheel hung on the rope. The wheel spins and it precesses around the rope, now suppose there are no air friction or friction within the system, will...
  14. S

    Acceleration detection accounting for rotation

    Hello everyone! I am trying to write an app that needs to be able to tell if a vehicle is accelerating or breaking. In this sense I used the accelerometer in the phone. At the moment I managed to isolate and subtract the gravitational pull of the Earth from my readings and I am using a noise...
  15. 24forChromium

    Relationships between these variables in a gyroscope?

    this is the gyroscope I am talking about: the variables are: -the angular velocity of the disk -the angular velocity of precession -the amount of force "applied" by the disk upward or downward
  16. 24forChromium

    When a gyroscope precesses, what is pushing it along?

    This is the kind of gyroscope that I am talking about: Where did the kinetic energy of precession come from? The gyroscope's spinning angular inertia? If so, how does it transfer into the precession? Is a torque applied horizontally (along the x-y plane) when the system is under the effect of...
  17. j3dwards

    Gyroscope and angular velocity

    Homework Statement A gyroscope takes 3.8 s to precess 1.0 revolution about a vertical axis. Two minutes later, it takes only 1.9 s to precess 1.0 revolution. No one has touched the gyroscope. Explain Homework Equations ω = Δθ/Δt ω = ωo + at The Attempt at a Solution So is the gyroscope...
  18. TBan

    Use of Gyro/Accelerometer for Boat Tilt Application?

    Hello, I'm looking to try to use a gyroscope to determine the rocking motion (just side to side - not back and forth) of a boat while it is traveling forward or sitting still in the water. Specifically, I'm looking for the boat's angle from vertical and this angle's velocity. Can I do this...
  19. Hesham Zwayyed

    Using accelorometer and gyroscope in projectile motion

    I'm working on a project to make a SmartBall that can detect the velocity(km/h) , spin(degrees per second) and flightpath(trajectory) of the ball using Intel Edison with the 9DOF block (LSM9DS0 : 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, and 3-axis magnetometer) & the battery block, I'm reading...
  20. RicardoMP

    4-disk Squared Gyroscope problem

    Homework Statement A rigid, square-shaped, structure with negligible mass contains 4 disks in rotation as you can see in the figure. Each disk has mass m, moment of inertia I about its rotation axis and angular velocity ws. Also, the plane of the structure coincides with the horizontal plane...
  21. W

    How Many RPM and Watts for 400kg of Gyroscopic Torque with Dual Rotors?

    Could anybody answer a question real quick I have about gyroscopic torque ? I want to use two counter rotating brake rotors in a copy cat lit-motors concept, and was wondering if I had two rotors and each one weighed 10 kilos how many rpm would have to spin to create 400kg of gyroscopic tourque...
  22. M

    Why is a gyroscope's precession fastest at 45 degrees?

    I did an experiment in which I varied the starting angle of elevation of a gyroscope. I noticed that at 45 degrees, the precessional period (amount of time to perform one spin) is the lowest, while at 0 degrees and 75 degrees, the precessional period is higher. If I plotted this on a graph, it...
  23. K

    Why "rate random walk" exists on gyroscpe ?

    hi I read an article about stochastic error modeling, and I didn't understand this extract about error sources : how can the "rate random walk" be present, while the gyroscope directly angular rate ? the article's title is : "Stochastic Modeling of MEMS Inertial Sensors " by Petko Petkov and...
  24. kmm

    What is the source of additional energy in a precessing gyroscope?

    I'm trying to think about gyroscope precession in terms of energy, and I'm a little confused. If you hold the spinning gyroscope at some tilt so that it doesn't precess, it will have energy associated with it's rotation. When you let it go, it will now have additional energy due to the...
  25. Nietzsche_Keen

    Possible to turn Android phone into Wii style remote?

    I can find instructions and videos everyone for how to control a remote control car with buttons on a smartphone screen. However, what I'M hoping to do is control an arduino equipped motorized car using the gyroscope and accelerometer contained within the phone. I have found the Wireless IMU...
  26. F

    “Why does gyroscope levitate?” stumps 3 physics profs

    More specifically... question stumps 3 physics profs, PF, textbooks, and entire Internet. It’s easy to find explanations of why a gyroscope precesses. What’s not so easy to find – even after spending, literally, hours thinking about it, surfing the web (including PhysicsForums), reading...
  27. B

    Velocity issues -- experimental data from an accelerometer and a gyroscope

    I'm trying to get an understanding on what's going on with some data of mine. I've attached some plots below. This data is from and accelerometer and gyroscope where I've calculated the global accelerations and velocities (top and bottom plot respectively in each figure). The data is from the...
  28. G

    Initial Gyroscopic Precession Using Forces

    I think I more or less understand how a gyroscope precesses--at least mathematically and in terms of torque/angular momentum. My question here is: how does the gyroscope start precessing in the first place? The external forces on the center of mass are entirely vertical. Given that Newton's...
  29. T

    Gyroscope Precession: Understanding Angular Momentum & Energy

    Hello. I know there are quite a few threads about this, but I couldn't find what I was looking for. This topic has been driving me crazy over the last couple of days. I know the cause behind the precession. It's because the torque due to gravity about the pivot tends to rotate the already...
  30. D

    Understanding Torque in Gyroscopes: A Question of Reference Frames

    I am a college student currently working on a physics project involving gyroscopes. Using the equation below (taken from Wikipedia), am I correct in assuming that dL/dt is the torque of the flywheel and that ω x L is the torque of the gyroscope around the axis of precession?
  31. Fizzios

    Gyroscope- Angular Momentum and Torque

    I was reading on gyroscopes, and everything seemed to make sense: the spin angular momentum along the axis of the gyroscope changes due to the torque by gravity, causing precession. However, I can't understand why we are measuring angular momentum (the spin of the gyroscope) from the center of...
  32. M

    Gyroscope, non symmetrical body

    Hello, first of all I know this post for help is not the clearest. I am looking for quick help but not necessarily the answer. I know I can solve the math of the problem but I am having trouble analyzing and setting up what I have. So I am asking for help with the approach. Homework Statement...
  33. A

    Vertical force exerted by a spinning non-perpendicular gyroscope

    A wooden box on a weighing scale weighs 1 kg. Inside the box is a gyroscope which is set spinning, and the box is now tilted at 45 degrees to the vertical and maintains this position due to the gyroscope inside. What is the weight shown on the scale - is it 1 kg or less than 1 kg? Why is...
  34. A

    Astronaut in Space With a Spinning Gyroscope

    One particular experiment that I remember from a visit to a Science Center is the one involving a revolving platform and a gyroscope. The user spins the gyroscope - a heavy wheel on an axle and stands on the platform which is free to rotate about its vertical axis. As I distinctly...
  35. basheer uddin

    How Does a Slow Spinning Gyroscope Behave Compared to a Fast One?

    how does a slow spinning gyroscope behave? does it behave as a normal fast spinning gyroscope would? if the mass of the gyro is large so that the angular momentum equals a fast spinning gyro does its precession equal a fast moving one? can anybody explain?please.
  36. mattyboson12

    What Are the Two Values of b for Steady Precession in a Gyroscope?

    [Question] Homework Statement [/b] A special purpose fan is mounted as shown in figure Q5 (Ive attached a picture of the diagram). The motor, armature, shaft and blades have a combined mass of 2.2Kg with a radius of gyration of 60mm. The axial position of b of the 0.8kg block A can be slid on...
  37. B

    What Happens When a Gyroscope is Spun on a Horizontal Surface?

    Please , watch this girl ( at about 50 sec) , can someone tell me what happens if the wheel gets a spin when it is already on a horizontal position? Thanks.
  38. applestrudle

    Is spin angular momentum increasing in a gyroscope?

    In my textbook there is an equation for the precession frequency: Ω = τ/Iω The derivation in the book shows no difference in the spin angular momentum at time t = 0 and t = delta t but when I tried it I got that the denominator of the above equation must be the 'new' angular momentum (at t...
  39. M

    Gyroscope Measurement and Angular Rates

    Do gyroscopes give the angular rates about its local axes or about a frame that is fixed and initially coincides with its local frame? I mean: would this sensor give the rate of change of the Euler's angles or the angular velocity ω (about the inertial frame)? One more question: I know that...
  40. U

    How did they get this precession frequency of this gyroscope?

    To summarize: 1. The solenoid is supplied with an AC voltage. 2. Produces an AC magnetic field out of the page 3. Exerts an AC magnetic force on the Nb-Plate that's placed just outside of one end of the solenoid 4. There is a fluid circulating in the torus, with angular momentum L in the...
  41. F

    Finding angular speed of a precessing gyroscope

    Haven't done much work with gyroscopes, so I think I'm just missing something obvious, but since I'm using very basic formulas, I cannot see my error. The stated answer is 1.8*10^3 rev/min, so I am clearly off.
  42. P

    Gyroscope speed change question

    Hi, i tried to figure out and made some research but with no luck to my problem: Let us supouse that we do have gyroscope with no friction (of course theoretically). We can imagine something like spinning rotor rotating around but not touching spin axis (magnetic levitation) and this...
  43. A

    Correct approach for modeling the motion of a gyroscope?

    Its a long time since I have done any mechanics and today I thought I would like to work out the equations of motion for a gyroscope. So I tried to put up a Lagrangian for a simple system (on the picture) of a rod of length L that is free to rotate about a pivot which has a flywheel (the red...
  44. S

    Precession Period of A Gyroscope?

    Hi I am doing my geodesy lab and don't really know how to calculate period of gyro? How the Precession Period of A Gyroscope is calculated? given D= diameter of gyro, f= spinng freq w= weight , g =9.8 and distance d= distance between center of gyro and for example Sun Assumption...
  45. A

    Why does a gyroscope accelerate?

    A gyroscope has two forces acting on it (is this wrong?): the normal force and its weight. Assuming they cancel, the total acceleration of the center of mass should be zero. How then, does the center of mass spin in a circle? Is there another force (friction?) present? If I released a gyroscope...
  46. mesa

    Basic gyroscope question about replacing the flywheel with balanced masses

    Would a pair of balanced weights connected rigidly about the spin axis operate in the same manner as a standard gyroscope with a flywheel?
  47. B

    Gyroscope Precession Explained: Simple Explanation

    I wanted to know if someone could explain how gyroscopic precession works. Preferably in normal physics terms and in laymens terms. Thanks :)
  48. A

    Gyroscope Principles: Explaining How it Works Without Math

    Can someone explain to me how a gyroscope works non-mathematically?
  49. E

    Circular motion experiment using accelerometer and gyroscope

    Hi all, Currently, I'm doing an experiment to estimate length of a rigid body. The approach is based on information from accelerometer and gyroscope while the rigid body is moved in circular way. The relationship is: v = ω x R (all are vectors, and 'x' means cross products) v =...
  50. M

    Why does a horizontal (wheel vertical) gyroscope eventually fall?

    I was hoping someone could clear this up for me. I've been thinking about it a bit, and I am thoroughly confused. Here is what I have come up with so far. The situation: A horizontal (wheel vertical) gyroscope spinning counter clockwise held up at one end by a string. Now change views so...
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