Gyros Concept

Demonstrations in Gyros

Two bicycle wheels on a green bench — one with black mag-style spokes and cylindrical axle handle, one with traditional wire spokes and extended axle
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Bicycle Wheels

Demonstrates angular momentum conservation, gyroscopic precession, and resistance to axis reorientation. Students observe how angular momentum transfers between a spinning wheel and a person on a rotating platform, making the …
MITAC motorized gyroscope with spinning flywheel (motion-blurred) in a dark metal gimbal frame on a round base, white clip-on mass on the horizontal shaft, red power cord
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Mitac Gyroscope

Demonstrates angular momentum as a vector quantity. The motorized gyroscope resists changes to its spin axis, maintaining orientation when the platform beneath it rotates. Clip-on masses create gravitational torque that …
MITAC motorized gyroscope with red rotor disk in green inner gimbal ring and blue outer gimbal ring, mounted on black base with power cord, two wooden blocks with binder clips on table nearby
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Motorized Gyroscope

Students observe that a spinning gyroscope maintains its orientation when the base is rotated, demonstrating conservation of angular momentum as a vector quantity. Hanging masses from the frame produce precession …
Gimballed gyroscope with black outer ring, white middle ring, red inner ring, and brass rotor, mounted on a black pedestal stand
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Gimballed Gyroscope

A three-axis gimballed gyroscope demonstrates angular momentum conservation and gyroscopic rigidity. Students observe how a spinning rotor resists reorientation and, when masses are clipped onto the shaft, precesses instead of …
Two WWII aircraft gyroscope instruments: a heading indicator in its housing (left) and an exposed gyro rotor mechanism (right), connected by rubber air hoses with a barb fitting
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Air Gyroscopes

WWII aircraft gyroscopes, spun by compressed air, demonstrate gyroscopic stability and precession. The authentic instruments connect angular momentum physics directly to real-world navigation applications.
Precession gyroscope with a brass flywheel on the left end of a horizontal shaft, a sliding egg-shaped counterweight on the right, mounted on a vertical post with a round wooden base

Precession Gyroscope

A spinning flywheel precesses under gravitational torque. Sliding the counterweight along the shaft changes the torque, allowing students to see how precession rate depends on.