Experiment Mu-16

Monorail Car

Description: A gyroscope is mounted on a two wheel cart which can roll along on the tabletop.  The gyroscope wheel is horizontal so that the angular momentum is vertical.  The gimbals have a degree of freedom about the horizontal axis normal to the tabletop. As the system tips about an axis parallel to the tabletop, the angular momentum vector precesses to become aligned with the torque vector.  This precession makes mass 'M' produce an additional torque parallel to the original precession vector.  The new precession due to the second torque opposes the original tipping motion and rights the cart.  Two statically unstable degrees of freedom become stable.

 

Cart with spinning gyroscope moving along tabletop.

 

This is the gyroscope being 'wound up' by a motor.

 

 

Materials: Monorail cart gyroscope

 

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This page was last updated on Friday August 15, 2008 8:37 PM