gyroscope: Quick Facts

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Photos

Illustration comparing a three-frame gyroscope on the left and a two-frame gyroscope on the right, each with a central spinning wheel mounted in gimbal rings on a stand to demonstrate rotational motion and stability.

Diagram explaining how a gyrocompass works, showing a ship anchored on the equator with a gyroscope whose axis points east and west, and illustrating how Earth's rotation causes the gyroscope's axis to tilt over time, aligning it with true north and south. Includes labeled positions at hourly intervals and a compass rose for orientation.

Diagram of a ring laser gyroscope showing laser beams traveling in a triangular path between three mirrors, with a laser source and a readout sensor to detect interference patterns caused by the Sagnac effect.

A diagram of a gyroscope with a spinning wheel mounted on an angled axis, showing labeled vectors for angular velocity, angular momentum, torque, force of gravity, and the precession direction. Three green axes indicate spatial orientation.

Three-panel diagram illustrating gyroscopic precession: the top panel shows a spinning wheel supported at both ends of its axle, the middle panel shows one support removed, and the bottom panel shows the wheel tilting and precessing while spinning, supported at one end. Axes and rotational directions are labeled throughout.

Figure 3: Rate gyroscopes (Left) Velocity gyro for measuring rate of turn;(right) velocity gyro for measuring rate of roll

Figure 2: Apparent movement of the spin axis of a gyroscope

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Topics

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