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The Gyroscope Forum |
23 November 2024 21:42
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Welcome to the gyroscope forum. If you have a question about gyroscopes in general,
want to know how they work, or what they can be used for then you can leave your question here for others to answer.
You may also be able to help others by answering some of the questions on the site.
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Question |
| Asked by: |
Moshe Cole |
| Subject: |
Gyroscopes |
| Question: |
I am doing a science project and the name of it is How Long Does A Gyroscope Spin?
Can you help me by sending me some answers to the project such as the Hypothesis, Procedure,Purpose,etc... |
| Date: |
21 January 2004
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Answers (Ordered by Date)
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| Answer: |
Sinjen, Uni of Birmingham - 23/02/2004 21:36:47
| | | A gyroscope will spin as long as it is spun in most cases, negating the fact that it will wind down after it has ceased to be spun. I guess the best answer to the question is along the lines that a gyro would spin, once spun, forever and ever if it was in a vacuum i.e. no friction, which is the case with the most highly developed gyroscopes. The most important part of a gyroscope is the system in which it is mounted, the gimbals (the framework). If you want a gyroscope to spin effectively forever (in theory) then you would need to suspend it in a vacuum using either a magnetic field or electrostatic forces, basically making the system completely frictionless - this is the key point- a gyro will spin for a certain time based on the forces acting on it - gravity, friction in the bearings (things that allow it to spin whilst being attached to something), friction due to the medium in which it is suspended (air) acting against the gyros spin etc etc. Also weight of the gyro itself (its inertia - its reluctance to stop, momentum etc), density of the medium(air density- the denser the air the greater the air friction/resistance). Calculating the spin time will be difficult but i doubt thats what they're actually looking for, just an appreciation of what affects the spin of a gyro. You could back up this reasing by getting hold of a toy gyro of differing sizes (masses- the gyro being the rotor and nothing else, everything else being the subsidiaries)and showing that within your "reference frame" (use that they'll love it!!) it will be the masses of the gyros that demonstrate spin time. ENJOY!! got to get back to my thesis now, take a guess on what!
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