Gyroscope

Gyroscope

A Gyroscope is a kind of spinning top, a heavy flywheel mounted in a frame. The faster the wheel spins, the more strongly it resists any change in the original direction of its axis. The effect is familiar to all of us in the conical toy top, which spins on its point in apparent defiance of gravity, and topples on its side only when it has sufficiently slowed down.

This strange property of the gyroscope, its resistance to a change of direction, is utilized for two very important purposes. First, it allows the gyroscope to be used for a compass and so does away with the troubles of magnetic compasses, the frequent deflection of the needle by nearby iron structures and iron deposits. Second, it allows the gyroscope to be used as a stabilizer in airplanes and seaships, lessening or eliminating the jolts from air and sea waves.