Gyroscope: Definition: A Gyroscope May Be Defined As A

Gyroscope
A Gyroscope shown in Fig. , is instrument which has fascinated students

of mathematics.
It seems to act as an instrument possessing intelligence.
If the rotor in Fig. 8.1 is spinning about X-axis and we attempt to move
any one of its parts, it resists that motion thus apparently failing to
confirm to the laws of statical equilibrium and of gravitation.
Although the principles of gyroscope have been known for a very
longtime, its application was limited to the gyroscopes for stabilizing
seaborne ships and for gyroscopic compasses. It was only during World
War II that gyroscope found very important applications like bombsights, control of aeroplanes
and guided missiles.
Use of gyroscope for control and stabilization is becoming popular but it is not without
undesirable effects due to gyroscopic reaction. It increases bearing reactions in crankshafts of
automobiles as the automobile negotiates a curve and also increases bearing reactions in ship
propellers as the ship pitches and rolls in a rough sea etc.
The most familiar example is a spinning top, the first artificial gyroscope probably made by the
Chinese. Other examples of gyroscopic motion are wheels of a motor car or locomotive rounding
a curve, flywheel in a motor car, the propeller of an
air plane, gas bearings and there are many more.
Gyroscope is used to introduce desirable forces, as for
example, in the stabilizer in a ship and air plane. It is
also used in instruments for maintaining direction
such as gyrocompass.
Definition: A gyroscope may be defined as a
spinning mass or wheel universally mounted so that
only one point—its centre of gravity is in a fixed
position, the wheel being free to turn in any direction
around this point.
When the gyroscope is at rest, it is simply a wheel

universally mounted and its axle can point in any
direction without altering the geometrical centre of
the assembly (Fig. l8.2).
Characteristics of Gyroscope
When the rotor is, spinned the gyroscope exhibits the following
two important characteristics
(I) It requires a high degree of rigidity and its axle
keeps pointing in the same direction no matter how
much the base is turned about—This is
gyroscopic inertia—Fig. 18.3.
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(2) The second characteristic “precession” may be illustrated by applying a force to the gyro
about the horizontal axis as shown in Fig. (a). It will be found that the applied force meets with
resistance and that the gyro, instead of turning about its horizontal axis, turns or “prcesses”
about its vertical axis in the direction indicated by the arrow P. Similarly if a force is applied
about the vertical axis, the gyro will precess about its horizontal axis as shown by the arrow P at
(b).
All the practical applications of the gyroscopic are based on the two characteristics discussed
above.
Factors effecting Gyroscopic inertia

Gyroscopic inertia depends upon angular velocity, weight and radius at which the weight is
concentrated.
Maximum effect is obtained therefore from a mass with its principal weight concentrated near
the rim, rotating at high speed.
The angular acceleration
The angular acceleration is the rate of change of angular velocity with respect to time. It is a
vector quantity and may be represented by drawing a vector diagram with the help of right hand
screw rule.
Angular Momentum and Velocity Vectors
The vector representation of angular quantities is usually made
by using the analogy with the motion of a right handed screw.
When such a screw is rotated its motion along the axis of
rotation will be proportional to its angular motion about the
axis. Thus a vector drawn to represent the axial velocity will
also represent the angular velocity as represented in Fig. 18.5.
The vector representing ω will, to a different scale, also
represent the angular momentum (Iω) of the body about the
axis of spin. If the body is in the form of a disc rotating anticlockwise as shown at (a) rotating
clockwise as shown at (b) looking from the right, the angular momentum (Iω) is represented by
the vector oa.
Definitions
Fig. 18.6 shows a disc spinning about an axis OX. If a torque is applied
to act about an axis perpendicular to the axis of spin (i.e., OY) as shown
in figure, then the disc will turn about a third axis (OZ) perpendicular to
the other two.
This effect is called the Gyroscopic action and the velocity about the
third axis is called the Velocity of Precession ωp .
Hence it follows that:
Axis of Spin is the axis about which the body revolves—OX in the
figure.
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Axis of Couple is the axis perpendicular to the axis of spin about which the torque is applied. It
lies in the same plane as OX, OY in the figure.
Axis of Precession is that axis about which the body revolves and is perpendicular to OX and
OY—OZ in the figure.
Precession means the rotation about the third axis OZ. The velocity about this axis is called the
velocity of precession, ωp.
When a body moves along a curved path with a uniform linear velocity, a force in the direction
of centripetal acceleration (known as centripetal force) has to be applied externally over the
body, so that it moves along the required curved path. This external force applied is known as
active force.
When a body, itself, is moving with uniform linear velocity along a circular path, it is subjected
to the centrifugal force* radially outwards. This centrifugal force is called reactive force. The
action of the reactive or centrifugal force is to tilt or move the body along radially outward
direction.
Note : Whenever the effect of any force or couple over a moving or rotating body is to be
considered, it should be with respect to the reactive force or couple and not with respect to active
force or couple.
Principles of Gyroscope
Principles of gyroscope can be easily understood from the toy gyroscope shown in Fig. 8.2. A
rotating disc supported on gimbal rings, rotates with an angular velocity called the velocity of
spin denoted by ω.
Gimbal ring has a projected rod which is supported on
frictionless surface. Such a toy when given to the child
would at first glance, make him feel that the torque created
by the weight of the unit would cause the mass to fall
vertically downwards.
However to his surprise, the mass executes a motion
contrary to the first reaction—the motion that has been
experimentally and analytically verified. The axis of the
rotating shaft rotates about the vertical axis OY with an
angular velocity denoted by ωp . It is called the velocity of
precession.
If friction is considered zero, the axis of rotation of the rotating disc would revolve in the
horizontal plane XOZ.
But normally the energy is dissipated in friction which is always there and the energy comes
from the loss of potential energy of the disc. Thus the rotating disc will gradually drop. This is
the case of natural precession.
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In case of vehicles, ships and other such devices, the spinning masses may be forced to precess
in a desired direction. Thus couples will be applied to the shaft carrying such spinning masses
when the axis of spin is forced to precess in a desired direction. That will be the case of forced
precision.
Precessional Angular Motion
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Consider a disc spinning with an angular velocity ω rad/s about the axis of spin OX, in
anticlockwise direction when seen from the front, as shown in Fig. 14.2 (a).
Since the plane in which the disc is rotating is parallel to the plane YOZ, therefore it is called
plane of spinning.
The plane XOZ is a horizontal plane and the axis of spin rotates in a plane parallel to the
horizontal plane about an axis OY. In other words, the axis of spin is said to be rotating or
processing about an axis OY (which is perpendicular to both the axes OX and OZ) at an angular
velocity ωp rad/s.
This horizontal plane — XOZ is called plane of precession and OY is the axis of precession.
The Relative Directions of Spin Vector, Precession Vector and Torque Vector with Forced
Precession
To determine the torque vector, rotate the spin vector through 900 in the direction in which the
precession axis is rotating. Then the spin vector corresponds to the direction of action torque
vector (Action couple vector) opposite to that is reaction torque or couple vector.
From this the direction of rotation of the torque

axis is fixed by applying the right-hand screw convention. For different directions of spinning
axis in the horizontal plane and precession axis in the vertical plane the direction of applied
torque vector is shown in Fig.
Gyroscopic Effect on Aeroplane
6
Consider Fig. 18.15 when an aeroplane while flying horizontally takes a left turn. Let the
propeller be rotating in a clockwise
direction looking from the tail end of the
plane.
From the vector diagram it is clear that

the applied couple will change the
angular momentum to XX’ in the
direction I to I’. The axis of spin,
precession and couple are shown in
figure following the right- hand screw
rule. The applied couple acts in a
clockwise direction. The reaction couple
tends to raise the nose and dip the tail. If
the plane takes a right turn instead of left
the applied couple sill raise the tail and
the reaction couple will dip the nose.
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Gyroscope

A Gyroscope shown in Fig. , is instrument which has fascinated students

When the gyroscope is at rest, it is simply a wheel

Factors effecting Gyroscopic inertia

From this the direction of rotation of the torque

From the vector diagram it is clear that

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