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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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Gyroscopes

Gyroscopic Effect

Gyroscopic Effect

In figure (a), a person holding the spinning bike wheel lifts it with her right hand and pushes down with her left hand in an attempt to rotate the wheel. This action creates a torque directly toward her. This torque causes a change in angular momentum ΔL in exactly the same direction. Figure (b) shows a vector diagram depicting how ΔL and L add, producing a new angular momentum pointing more toward the person. The wheel moves toward the person, perpendicular to the forces she exerts on it.

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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