Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-10-10
WHIRLING BODIES
They Invariably Tend to Point to
the Pole Star.

Spinning a top is not always child's
play. although il has generally been re-
garded as a Juvenile sport. Once in
England top whipping was practically
ordered by law. There was a huge
top formerly provided in every village
to be whipped in frosty weather that
the peasants might be kept warm by
the exercise and out of mischief while
they could not work. Shakespeare In
Twelfth Night says. His brains
turn like a parish top" Ben Jonson
in New Inn" writes, He spins like
a parish top" and Beaumont and
Fletcher have dances like a town top
and reels and hobbies" Evelyn, the
diarist. speaking of the uses of willow
wood. says that it was ordered that
"the great town tops should be made
thereof"
OF late years, however, science has
taken a hand in spinning tops with
fruitful results. From spinning tops
We can learn many Interesting and
valuable things. For example. we can
prove that the earth revolves on its
axis and calculate at what speed.
The phenomena OF spinning bodies
are extremely interesting. If you throw
your hat into the afr, but without spin
ming it. it will fall perhaps on one side.
perhaps on the other, but If you give 1t
a spinning motion before sending It
into the air it will always come down
the same side down as it went up. The
same thing is true of coins and in fact
OF all objects spun In this manner. A
knife. If merely thrown into the air.
may come down at any angle, but il
held point down and sent spinning into
tine air it will on falling stick its point
into the floor invariably
Other bodies acquire rigidity when
spun rapidly. Thus a piece of chain
II placed on a wheel and made to re-
volve rapidly will form perfect circle
and If thrown off the wheel suddenly
will roll across the table or the floor
just like a solid hoop until its speed IS
diminished. when it will fall into a
huddled mass.
1t is q strange fact that spinning
bodies always tend TO point to the
north star-the pole star. Gently, but
firmly, they seem to tug at their moor.
ings in an effort to assume the angle
that win point them in that direction.
Once they have attained it they do not
vary.
If. now. you want to prove the rota-
ton of the earth by means of spin.
ming top you can do so as follows:
Provide. yourself with a gyrostat capa-
BILE Of being driven by electricity so
that it can run for twenty-four hours
or more without stopping. Set this 60
ing and point it to the north or pole
star. It will soon assume that direc-
ton. Now. as the axis of the top is
pointed in q certain direction (say the
north wall of the room and stays
there, without ever moving. this will
be guide to you TO check off your OBJ
servations. And as you watch you will
notice that in six hours time the top
will point to the west and six hours
| later to the south. six hours later TO
! the east, and at the conclusion of the
twenty-four hours it will have complet-
! ed the circle and will again be point
/ ing due north 1t will have completed
the circuit Of the four walls Of the
/ room.
What does this mean? It means that
the room has revolved round the top.
but as the room is fixed to the solid
earth it implies that the whole earth
has reyolved round the top. which
/ alone remained stationary. Conse-
( quently we have proved by this means
! that the earth has turned once round
on its axis, and that it does so turn.
and that the heavens remain still and
stationary.
| Many interesting astronomical dis
coveries have been made by the aid
Of spinning tops. and the facts obtain
ed by their study have been applied TO
the rotation of heavenly bodies, the
earth included. and the "wabble" of its
axis has been calculated by this means.
In many ways. therefore. the spinning
! top is a valuable scientific instrument.
-Hereward Darlington in New York
/ World.