Gyroscope
Gyroscope
REFERENCES
The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Chapter 20 (a very nice, intuitive description of the operation of the
gyroscope). Copy available at the Resource Centre.
Most Introductory Physics texts (e.g. A.Halliday and R.Resnick, Physics; M.Sternheim and J.Kane,
General Physics) discuss Angular Motion, Moments of Inertia, Simple Harmonic Motion, etc.
Operation and Instruction Manual for the MITAC Gyroscope (available at the Resource Centre)
INTRODUCTION
One of the most interesting areas in the science of rotational dynamics is the study of spinning solid objects,
tops, hoops, wheels, etc. From the gyrocompass (which indicates true North, rather than Magnetic North)
to an understanding of how a cyclist turns corners, the applications of this field of study are both practical
and fascinating. This experiment is designed to
introduce you to some of these interesting and
often counter-intuitive properties of rotating
bodies.
The apparatus consists of a 2.7 kg cylindrical
rotor that is spun at a constant rate by an
electric motor. The rotor is mounted in a
double gimbal arrangement which allows it to
assume any orientation.
THEORY
Angular Motion. The basic equations for
angular motion can often be obtained simply
from those for linear motion by making the
following substitutions (bold quantities are
vectors):
Linear variables
Force, F
Mass, m
Velocity, v
Momentum, p
Acceleration, a
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Angular variables
Torque,
Moment of Inertia, I
r
Angular velocity,
Angular Momentum, L
Angular acceleration, a
NB. The analogy needs to be treated with caution; e.g. I is not a constant property of the body, as is mass, since its
value depends the axis around which it is measured.
GYROSCOPE
r d rp d ( mvr )
r
Thus Newtons Law F =
=
= ma
dt
dt
r
r
r
r dL d(I)
r
, becomes =
=
= I
dt
dt
So we see that a torque applied to a body rotating with angular momentum L produces a change in that
angular momentum according to the relationship:
r
r dL
=
dt
(1)
r
r
r
L
=
I
then from equation (1), L does not change in magnitude but does change in direction (if you do not
understand why this is so, check with a demonstrator before going any further). This change in
r
direction of L (and thus also of ) is called precession and appears as a rotation of the direction of the
L vector in space with a precession angular velocity of p . Then it can be shown that:
r
r
= p L
EXPERIMENTS
1. Introductory experiment
Study the gyroscope (gyro) and ensure that you
can identify the outer frame, the outer gimbal
(which has a vertical rotation axis), the inner
gimbal (with horizontal rotation axis), and the
caging screw which locks the outer gimbal to the
frame, along with the associated equipment:
weights, springs, supports and the scale.
Instrument alignment
- Set the gyro on a level table.
- Lock the outer vertical gimbal to the frame
with the caging knob.
- Start the motor and allow a minute or so for
the rotor to attain a constant operating speed.
- Adjust the arrow head and/or tail weights by
turning them until the arrow remains in a
horizontal plane, which indicates a balance
about the inner gimbal axis.
GYROSCOPE
(2)
r
r
= p L
(2)
With the outer gimbal locked, the gyro is not free to precess and the precession angular velocity p must
be zero. Then, by Eq. (2), the angular momentum L must be zero, which means no torque is generated to
oppose the torque caused by pushing on the arrow. The gyro seems to have lost its inertial properties.
p = 2 f
(3)
Measure the lever arm: the distance (along the spin vector arrow) between the inner gimbal rotational axis
and the notch on which the torquer weight was placed.
Express the applied torque (in N m) by multiplying the force due to the torquer weight (in N) by the lever
arm (in m).
Use (2) to determine the angular momentum L of the gyro.
Repeat the experiment for three or four other combinations of torquer and lever arm. Two weights are
supplied; each weight can be placed in any of the different positions on the shaft; more than one weight can
be used at a time.
GYROSCOPE
r
r
L = I
(4)
L is the angular momentum, is the angular (spin) velocity of rotation of the body and I is the moment
r
of inertia of the body about the axis of rotation which is the (vector) axis.
The objective of this experiment is to calculate the rotor moment of inertia from: the angular momentum as
measured in Experiment 2, and the spin angular velocity to be measured in this experiment.
Balance the gyro, apply power to the rotor and allow approximately one minute for the rotor to come up
to speed. Measure the time required to complete ~50 revolutions, calculate the rotor spin velocity in rad/s.
Use (4) and the previously determined L to calculate I.
In order to calculate the rotor moment of inertia we shall consider the solid to be made of two bodies
having moments of inertia I1 and I2. The moment of inertia I of the rotor can be calculated by using the
method of superposition. To simplify the calculation, we neglect the small hub at the centre and the rounding
of all sharp edges. The rotor is a composite solid made up as the difference between two right circular
cylinders. To get the solid, we have to subtract I2 from I1:
1
1
I1 = M1r12 = V1 r12
2
2
(5)
I1 (r1 )
I2
=
(r2 )
I2 =
1
1
M 2 r22 = V2 r22
2
2
M1,2 , r1,2 , V1,2 are masses, radii and volumes of the two cylinders; is the density of the cast iron
material (7 103 kg/m3).
Calculate the value for the moment of inertia of the gyro rotor. Compare the value to that measured before.
Discuss the sources of error.
GYROSCOPE
K
I
I is the composite moment of inertia of the inner gimbal plus rotor. The torque constant is equal to the ratio
of the output torque to the output angular displacement:
K=
(7)
In the situations shown in Figures 1, 2a, 2b and 3, the torque applied to the rotor-plus-gimbal is ,
r
r r
r
r
= F l by definition of torque. Here F is the sum of the forces acting at a distance l from
the axis of rotation. These forces are provided by the two springs. If k 1 and k 2 are the spring constants
of the two springs, d1 and d2 the extensions from the unstressed length when the rotor is at rest, and
the extension of one spring and the concomitant compression of the other as the rotor oscillates (vertically
in Figures 2a and 2b, horizontally in Figure 3), we have:
= F l = [ k 1 ( d1 + ) k 2 (d 2 )]
(8)
= 2k l
(9)
Now = l where is the angular displacement of the rotor-plus-gimbal (see Figure 1).
Equation (7) becomes:
2 kl 2
K=
=
= 2 kl 2
(10)
2 kl 2
=
I
You will assume k 1 . k 2 . k ~ 76.5 N/m
GYROSCOPE
(11)
Figure 1.
Figure 2a.
Figure 3.
Figure 2b.
Procedure
A. Moment of Inertia about Inner Gimbal Axis
Balance the gyro (see Instrument alignment, above). Attach the pointer and spring lever to the inner
gimbal then apply power to the gyro rotor. Balance the outer gimbal by means of the adjustment weights
on the shaft of the spin vector arrow. Attach the springs as shown in Figure 2a and 2b.
Deflect the spin vector arrow a small amount (5 to 10 degrees) and then release it.
Time ~ 20 oscillations with a stopwatch. Compute the natural frequency in oscillations/second. Calculate
K from Eq. (10) and then use Equation (11) to compute the inner moment of inertia Ii.
GYROSCOPE
n = 2 f n =
L
I iw I ow
(12)
Io and Ii determined in Experiment 4 become now Iow and Iiw. They have a term added to take account
of the extra contribution of the torquer mass.
Balance the gyro and unlock the outer gimbal. Apply power to the rotor and align the spin vector arrow
in the horizontal plane. Clip a weight (use the maximum torque available) and time ~50 cycles of nutation.
Calculate the nutation frequency in oscillations/second. Compute the nutation frequency using Equation (12)
and compare the result with the measured value.
Observations
- A limitation of the apparatus comes from friction in the bearings of the gimbals. This is particularly
noticeable with a large weight hung on the rotor axis. If friction did not exist, the arrow would not drop with
time. You should figure out which bearing is causing this and you might work out how to move the base
to eliminate this torque while you perform your experiment.
- One of the most useful features of a gyroscope is the stability of its direction of spin in space. Gyroscopic
stability can be understood by rewriting Equation (1):
r I f I i
=
t
where
f and i
are the final and initial angular speed (spin) of the object. If
is small or applied
for a short time, it will have only a small effect in changing the angular momentum of the object and the spin
direction will be constant.
RM Serbanescu - Feb. 2003. Previous versions of this guide sheet were written by D. Harrison (1974),
J. Vise (1988) and T. Key (1995)
GYROSCOPE