Gyroscopic Precession (Relationship with ωspin and ωprecession)

1. May 2, 2013

ILoveZerg

1. The problem statement, all variables and given/known data

I am trying to find the relationship between the rate of precession(ωprecession) and the angular velocity of the wheel(ωspin). Here is a video that explains the problem well:

2. Relevant equations

$$L = r X P = Iω$$
$$\tau = r X F$$

3. The attempt at a solution

http://demoweb.physics.ucla.edu/node/29
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/GyroscopicPrecession.html

So, above are the answers to my question. However, they do not do a very good job of explaining what the equations mean. The equation for ωprecession from the first link is:
$ω_{precession} = \stackrel{\tau}{I\omega_{spin}}$
$ω_{precession} = \stackrel{Mgr}{L}$

I am trying to understand these and really do not know where to go from here. Is it really as simple as $ω_{precession} = \stackrel{Mgr}{Mr_{2}^2\omega}$?

Edit: I was doing some more thinking and in the above equation where I replaced Iw with Mr^2w. The r2 on the bottom is the radius of the wheel while r is the radius of the horizontal "rod".

Last edited: May 2, 2013
2. May 2, 2013

haruspex

Yes, that looks right (after changing \stackrel to \frac).