Bicycle Wheel Gyroscope

Introduction:

A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation. The wheel, once spinning, tends to resist changes to its orientation.

Materials:

• Bicycle Wheel

• Rope

• Rotating Chair

Procedure:

1. Tie a rope through the whole in the handle, let go of the wheel and you can see that the wheel falls. Spin the wheel and it will not fall, thus it is defying gravity.

2. Sit in the rotating chair while holding the wheel vertically. Spin the wheel, then turn the wheel to one side, your chair will start to rotate; this demonstrates the conservation of angular momentum.

Scientific Principle:

Precession: The motion of the axis of a spinning body where there is an external force acting on the axis.

Angular Momentum: The quantity of rotation of a body, which is the result of its moment of inertia and the object’s angular velocity.

Safety Regulations:

Keep loose objects; hair, fingers, clothing etc. away from spinning spokes and axle. Do no drop the Bicycle Wheel Gyro from any height or allow wheel to roll away at high speed.