Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-06-10
THE cYRoscoPE PHENOMENA.
How the Remarkable Device Operates
and Is placed in Ships and Tor
pedoes,

a pedoeS.
The sun rises" in the East ana
, sets. in the West, so that any point
. on the earth's surface is travelling
toward the East. away from the West
To an observer at the North Pole the
earth will appear to be spinning about
its axis in a counter ciockwlse VI
rection, i. q, a direction opposite 10
that in which the hands OF clocN
: travel But rs viewed from the ssilie
point the earth is travelling bodily
round the sun with its axis inclined 10
its plane of rotation. as with the top,
and also in Il clockwise direction as
With the top.
The whole gyroscopic principle can
be clearly understood by bearing IN
mind the fact that any body when
has weight and is moving in a certain
direction has inertia which makes
If resist any change of its motion IN
amount or direction. The former can
be seen when a tram stops suddenly.
| The body of the car wants to Keep oa
moving and shoots forward as 1ar as
the springs will allow 1t, the latter
providing the force necessary to over
come the inertia. The effort needed
TO change the direction of a MOVING
BODY is very evident if bicycle Wheel
be spun and held in the hands py the
spindle. A considerable turning efo't,
or .'torque.9 has to be exerted to tufA
tho wheel. 1t is this latter rotating
or angular" inertia which Is utilized
in a gyroseepe.
Foucault in 1852 arranged pendu-
\ INN of great length to swing from the
I roof of the Pantheon in Paris. Ihe
hob oscillated over circular table
marked out in degrees. The swing
was, of course. very slow, put 'he
sneed of the bob travelling at such IN
enormous radius gave 1t lafse
amount Of inertia, so that observers ID
the gallery could actually see that II
the pendulum swung over one el-
iameter of the table as indicated oN
the graduations at the next SWING IL
appeared to move over another III
arneter at small angle to the frst
This afforded an admirable proof thAt
while the table moves round With tae
| Garth. the pendulum objects to alter
ing its plane or swing. Every reaoei
knows the gyroscopic tops which car
he bought in the streets of Lonaen
Foucault was the first TO construct o'fS
of these instruments scientifically,
In 1744 Serson first made practlca
! use of the gyroscope by fixing the ap
!. paratus in ships. The wheel was ar
! ranged horizontally, and had It's uppeI
surface polished, so that as the shli
rolled or pitched the wheel remalhes
undistlrrbed and afforded an artiiicla
horizon for taking the ships beafihss
I'll This apnaratus was aftefward perfect
: ed nv Admiral Henrias. 1t is I'M
/ ! possible ia explain the acton OF
4 ! pyroscope exactly, as applied to MOI
= err{ machines, without entering mt
IL mathematics. but the direction o
d forces which arise, though not thei
t amount. may be readily found by re
# Numbering one simple rule. If
e wheel appears to be observed to b
: summing on it's axle in right han
II direction. and if it begins to tur1
about a diameter in right-hand Oil
rection as viewed from one emu vi ';''
diameter then the axle end FRO:
which the spin appears rlsht-hahu
o will tend to move toward 'he oiaii'e'e
I end from which the inciaentai turhih
} appears right hand, |. e., the Whet
= | processes" about Seeo"
q perpendicular to the Hfs,.
5; This rule will best be appreciate
is by applying it to the few phehoiief
is discussed at the beginning, simpl
C example is that of front oieye'
If wheel which begins to TAN, ABOUT
: horizontal diameter as axis, say, to y
l. right The rider instantly turns n
= handlebar sharply in the same diree
e. ton and rights the macine. NOW,
Ii onlooker on his right sees the Whe
l. summing right hand" and, as We've
q from above, the rider applies a RICH
hand twist. SO the right-hand ak
end rises toward the top, counter
acting the falling tendency. A rit
NJ bullet on leaving the parrel
j. travelling with rapid left-hand spl
as viewed from the rifle and with i
Oh nose pointing upward The air RI
IF sistance, acting on the under slde
d. the nose. tends to tilt the bullet
d. but, owing to gyroscopic action, malN
h. it swing over slightly to the left, b.
J. coming slightly "broadside' on to l
ra trajectory. The consequent incfea
r., of wind pressure on the right 81
al makes the bullet drift" to the lie
ne For this reason the sights have TO
II. made to correct for drift by being
over to the right.
AS a torpedo leaves the tube DC
in the latter catching a trigger on I
&c former releases a spring starting
~ gyroscope Thus before the water
=. reached the gyroscope axis points
the direction of aim, from which
-, never deviates. Should the torpe
! in, hn q
a., gyroscope relative to the torpedo
h. tiers and compassionate valves cor
vs., into play, which enable the air us
&c to drive the propellers to operate
-, rudder in such way as to correct =
deviation. Thus actually a torpe