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The Gyroscope Forum |
23 November 2024 18:18
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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: |
Mr A |
| Subject: |
power of gyroscopes |
| Question: |
i have read all through the site and have a very very general idea of gyroscopes! i recently brought a powerball, which is basically a toy gyroscope that you spin up and maintain speed to increase the strength of arms and wrists. whilst spinning i began to think... would it be possible to make a gyroscope that could be self contained? i mean in the respect that would you be able to produce a cradle that could essentially run off the power prduced by the gyroscope, to continually turn and keep up the rpm of the gyroscope? so more than producing a propulsion energy, why not try to produce electrical energy? please forgive me if i'm being naive and this has already been done :) |
| Date: |
4 May 2008
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Answers (Ordered by Date)
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| Answer: |
Bazanaius - 06/05/2008 16:19:10
| | | Hi Mr A,
unfortunately your idea is limited by the 1st law of thermodynamics which states that 'Energy can neither be created nor destroyed'. Inherent in any design you create with moving parts is friction, which will lost energy by heat. This 'inneificiency' of the system you've created requires that you put some energy in to maintiain the movement.
This is what prevents the creation of perpetual motion machines such as the one you have described above.
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| Answer: |
Link S. - 07/05/2008 19:17:37
| | | Question what if you set it up somewhat like a generator in a Magnetic cradle with ceramic magnets that keep it spinning at terminal speed yet have magnets incorporated into the side of the Gyro that produce electrical output as they pass each other.
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| Report Abuse |
| Answer: |
Glenn Hawkins - 12/05/2008 16:17:28
| | | Dear Mr. A.
Mr. A? Well O.K. What is in a name they all smell the same anyway? You’ve asked a good question and have received two good replies. Bazanaius is textbook correct. Link S. well O.K. again, S. (You two alphabet soup twins! I have decided to aid you.) Link S. poses a most interesting theoretical question that has neither been test proven, or disproved. The answer to these three interesting prier posts lies in the paragraph below.
Can a near perfect gyro actually precess indefinitely into the future (1,000 years, or more), as has been questioned by scholars in past studies? If the thing were made of the strongest steel, and having a large diameter, 10 ft. with a short axel to the fulcrum, 4 ft. and with 99% of the weight existing in the rim and the thing were rotated at 45,000 RPM, and further it were enclosed in a glass vacuum chamber and supported by magnetic lavation at the fulcrum, how much force would it carry and drag in the precession plane and how long would it precess? How many years would it overcome an exceedingly light magnetic resistance against precession to generate an exceedingly small amount of electricity per day before the near perfect gyro would completely fall into gravity? At this point I think both A. and S. are locked in a paradox. There is no answer.
I promised to help with the soup didn’t I?
Regards,
Sir G.
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