Gyroscope

Precision Gyroscope includes string, T-handle, and pedestal.

Ages 8+

What is a Gyroscope? 

A gyroscope is a device that consists of a wheel or disc or circulating beam of light mounted such that it can spin rapidly about an axis; this axis is free to change in any direction. The orientation of the axis is not impacted by the tilting of the mounting, so the gyroscope is in effect used to detect and measure the deviation of an object from its desired orientation, even maintain the said orientation and angular velocity. 

In their most rudimentary form, gyroscopes are a spinning wheel/disk on an axle. The more complex ones are typically mounted on a metal frame, or set of moveable frames or gimbals for the apparatus to function with greater precision. These are typically multi-axis gyroscopes that allow for a wide bandwidth in all their axes. Gyroscopes can seem like simple objects and when the wheel is not spinning, they can be reduced to being over-engineered paperweights. But they have several complex uses today: they are used in compasses and automatic pilots on ships and aircraft, in the steering mechanisms of torpedoes, and in the inertial guidance systems installed in space launch vehicles, ballistic missiles, and orbiting satellites.