How Does the Tail Rotor on a Helicopter Counteract Torque?

[aspagnito]

I took an engine from computer's ventilator and I have moved it along the axis of possible rotation (it was not rotating). Nothing happened. I was moving it along the straight line. When the engine was working and rotating, something weird happened, 'cause the engine did everything not to move along the axis (it turned its possition, its axis was almost prependicular to the direction of the movement).
Please explain me this.

 

[lpfr]

If the fan was still on, I think you discovered the windmill.

 

[russ_watters]

No, I think he discovered the gyroscope.

 

[lpfr]

Yes, may be rss_watters is right. I did not understood well the description.

 

[aspagnito]

You all know the idea of helicopters. What happens if the tail of the helicopter is endlessly long? That's the idea I would like You to explain me. What physics rule in this case? Will the back propeller have any resistance to move? Give me please some mathematics.

 

[FredGarvin]

Sorry. I know english is a second language here, but your question isn't making much sense. The tail rotor on a helicopter is used to counteract the torque created by the main rotor. If the tail boom were very long, that would, theoretically require very little force from the tail rotor to produce an equivilent counter tourque. Of course there are NUMEROUS other problems involved with having a very long tail boom, but that is in the realm of reality, not theory.