Müller P, Sack A, Pöschel T (2020)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2020
Book Volume: 88
Pages Range: 175-181
Journal Issue: 3
DOI: 10.1119/10.0000517
A spinning gyroscope resists small torques in directions perpendicular to its axis, that is, the angular orientation of a body rigidly attached to a gyroscope is stable against rotation around certain axes. Since the angular orientation of a body is described by three angles (e.g., Euler angles), one might conclude that it is possible to stabilize the orientation of an object against rotation using a combination of three gyroscopes spinning around non-collinear axes. We perform experiments under conditions of weightlessness to demonstrate that systems of coupled gyroscopes cannot arrest the angular orientation of free-floating objects, in contradiction to a widespread myth about gyroscopic stabilization, based on the above arguments. (C) 2020 American Association of Physics Teachers.
APA:
Müller, P., Sack, A., & Pöschel, T. (2020). Misconceptions about gyroscopic stabilization. American Journal of Physics, 88(3), 175-181. https://dx.doi.org/10.1119/10.0000517
MLA:
Müller, Patric, Achim Sack, and Thorsten Pöschel. "Misconceptions about gyroscopic stabilization." American Journal of Physics 88.3 (2020): 175-181.
BibTeX: Download