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Rotational Kinematics, Angular Momentum, and Energy
Vector Nature of Rotational Kinematics
Physics Textbooks Boundless Physics Rotational Kinematics, Angular Momentum, and Energy Vector Nature of Rotational Kinematics
Physics Textbooks Boundless Physics Rotational Kinematics, Angular Momentum, and Energy
Physics Textbooks Boundless Physics
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Physics
Concept Version 7
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Gyroscopes

Gyroscopes

Gyroscopes

As seen in figure (a), the forces on a spinning gyroscope are its weight and the supporting force from the stand. These forces create a horizontal torque on the gyroscope, which create a change in angular momentum ΔL that is also horizontal. In figure (b), ΔL and L add to produce a new angular momentum with the same magnitude, but different direction, so that the gyroscope precesses in the direction shown instead of falling over.

Source

    Boundless vets and curates high-quality, openly licensed content from around the Internet. This particular resource used the following sources:

    "OpenStax College, College Physics. November 17, 2012."
    http://cnx.org/content/m42184/latest/?collection=col11406/1.7 OpenStax CNX CC BY 3.0.

Related Terms

  • torque
  • right hand rule
  • gimbal
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