GYROSCOPE

Presentation by : Malhar Nityanand

Atharv Kulkarni
Dhairya Swami
CONTENTS

● GYROSCOPE BASICS
● TYPES OF GYROSCOPE
● APPLICATIONS OF GYROSCOPE
GYROSCOPE BASICS
 GYROSCOPIC EFFECT OBSERVED IN
EVERYDAY LIFE

● Why does a bicycle never fall

over when it’s running?
● How does a cruiser remain
stable over moving water?
● How do airplane pilots navigate
through the skies?
● How do electronic gadgets like
mobile phones sense the
alignment of the device?
 WHAT IS A GYROSCOPE?
Gyroscope frame
➔ Gyroscope is a device consisting of a
wheel or disc mounted so that it can Spin axis
spin rapidly about an axis which is
itself free to alter in direction. The
orientation of the axis is not affected
by tilting of the mounting.
➔ The basic constituents of a
gyroscope are :
◆ Gyroscope frame Gimbal
◆ Gimbal
◆ Rotor Rotor
◆ Spin axis
 PROPERTIES OF GYROSCOPE

A gyroscope works on two principles :

1. Rigidity : Also known as space rigidity or gyroscopic inertia, it is the ability of a spinning
object to maintain its axis of rotation. The higher the angular velocity, higher is the
rigidity.
2. Precession : If the axis of a spinning or rotating body is given an angular motion about
its axis perpendicular to the axis of spin, a torque is naturally applied on the body about
the third perpendicular axis known as active gyroscopic torque which is accompanied
by a reactive gyroscopic torque. This phenomenon is known as gyroscopic precession.

Putting it in a simpler manner, a gyroscope works on the principle of conservation of

angular momentum. Hence, it tries to maintain the direction and magnitude of its
angular momentum and resists any change.
GYROSCOPIC PRECESSION
Active and Reactive gyroscopic torque is easy to understand when compared with
centripetal and centrifugal force.
HOW IS ACTIVE GYROSCOPIC
TORQUE GENERATED?

As a momentum vector always tries to follow force

vector, similarly an angular momentum vector tries
to follow torque vector.
 TYPES OF GYROSCOPE
GYROSCOPE

MECHANICAL GAS-BEARING OPTICAL

GYROSCOPE GYROSCOPE GYROSCOPE

CLASSICAL VIBRATING FIBRE OPTIC RING LASER

GYROSCOPE GYROSCOPE GYROSCOPE GYROSCOPE
 GAS-BEARING
GYROSCOPE

● In gas-bearing gyroscopes the rotor is

suspended by pressurized gas,
reducing the amount of friction
between moving parts.
● These types of gyroscopes were used
by the NASA in the development of
the Hubble Telescope.
● According to NASA, the gas-bearing
gyroscopes are much quieter than
other forms of gyroscopes and also
have greater accuracy.
 OPTICAL GYROSCOPE
● Unlike mechanical or gas-bearing gyroscopes, optical gyroscopes do not rely
on a rotating wheel or bearing.
● Optical gyroscopes are not based on the conservation of angular momentum.
● Since there are no moving parts, fiber optic gyroscopes are very durable and
are used in modern rocketry and spacecraft.
 OPTICAL GYROSCOPE

FIBRE OPTIC RING LASER

GYROSCOPE GYROSCOPE
APPLICATIONS OF
GYROSCOPE
 APPLICATIONS OF GYROSCOPE

A. In Aeronautics & Aviation :-

a. Remote control flying devices, helicopters, some hovercrafts, planes, etc. contain
gyroscopes which prevent them from spinning or flipping over.
b. Spacecrafts rely on gyroscopes for orientation in space.
c. Aircraft & aircraft autopilots depend on gyroscopes to monitor changes in altitude &
direction.
 APPLICATIONS OF GYROSCOPE IN
AVIATION

We shall discuss three very important instruments used in an aircraft which work on gyroscopic
principle, namely,

ATTITUDE HEADING TURN

INDICATOR INDICATOR COORDINATOR
 ATTITUDE INDICATOR

➔ An attitude indicator is used to inform pilots of the attitude/orientation of the aircraft relative
to earth.

➔ It indicates the pitch (fore & aft

tilt) and roll/bank (side to side tilt)
of the aircraft.
➔ It uses a gyroscope which is air
powered, i.e., air is sucked
through a filter with the help of a
vacuum and is passed through the
rotor of the gyroscope which in
turn powers it.
 ATTITUDE INDICATOR

➔ It uses an artificial horizon to

estimate the position of actual
horizon.
➔ The reference arm is properly
calibrated before every flight.
➔ The markings for 10°, 20°, 30°, 60°,
90° bank and 5°, 10° pitch are given
on the dial.
 ATTITUDE INDICATOR

➔ The rotor of the gyroscope rotates

about a vertical axis.
➔ It consists of a roll gimbal and a pitch
gimbal.
➔ The roll gimbal is connected to the
dial so that when the aircraft banks it
imparts rotational motion to the
reference arm and bank angle can be
read.
➔ The pitch gimbal is also connected to
the dial which imparts vertical
motion to the reference arm and the
pitch is read.
 HEADING INDICATOR

➔ A heading indicator senses the airplane’s

movement and displays the heading based on
a 360° display in 5° increments.
➔ Tick marks are labeled every 30°.
➔ It does not naturally sense the heading so it
has to be calibrated frequently in order to get
accurate reading.
➔ Heading indicator is air powered too.
 HEADING INDICATOR

➔ Unlike the attitude indicator, the rotor

in a heading indicator rotates along a
horizontal axis.
➔ When the airplane takes a turn, the
rotor maintains its position and thus,
the gimbal rotates relative to the rotor.
➔ The gimbal is connected to the dial
through a system of gears which
adjusts and imparts the rotational
motion of gimbal into the dial.
➔ Error can occur in the reading due to
the friction in gears and the precession
effect.
 TURN COORDINATOR

➔ Turn coordinator is a supporting instrument

used while banking, which tells the rate and
quality of turn.
➔ It also acts as a backup for when the attitude
indicator fails as it is electrically powered.
➔ On the dial, there are two tick marks which
indicate level, and the other two which
indicate a standard rate turn.
➔ A standard rate turn is what takes 2 mins to
complete a 360° full circle.
 TURN COORDINATOR

INCLINOMETER
➔ There is also a ball placed right below the airplane sign inside a tube filled with
kerosene, which is known as inclinometer.
➔ It travels in the direction in which
the aerodynamic forces push/pull it.
➔ Ideally, the ball should be centered
which indicates that the turn is
coordinated.
➔ If the turn is not coordinated the
aerodynamic forces become
unbalanced and the ball starts
moving left/right.
 TURN COORDINATOR

➔ Here, the rotor is powered

electrically and it rotates about
a horizontal axis.
➔ The gimbal is connected to the
dial with a mechanical system
which imparts its motion to the
dial.
➔ The gimbal is not leveled, but
makes a 30° angle with the
horizontal.
➔ This feature allows the
instrument to measure the rate
of role as the plane enters the
turn.
 APPLICATIONS OF GYROSCOPE

B. In Naval field :-
a. Gyroscopes are used in ships to maintain stability as the effect of gyroscopic couple is on
i. Steering
ii. Pitching
iii. Rolling
GYROSCOPIC EFFECT ON A SHIP
The top and front views of a ship are as
shown in figure.

The front end of the ship is called Bow(fore-

end).

The rear end of the ship is known as Stern

or Aft.

The left hand side is called Port.

The right hand side of the ship is said to be

Star board.
 THE EFFECT OF GYROSCOPIC COUPLE ON THE SHIP IN
THE FOLLOWING THREE CASES

STEERING

ROLLING

PITCHING
The rolling will occur about an axis which is parallel to the axis of the
propellor of the ship and so it has no significance according to the
gyroscopic point of view.

The steering will occur about an axis which is perpendicular to the axis of
the propeller of the ship and so it will have a gyroscopic effect. Due to
steering effect the movement of ship takes place in LHS and RHS
according to the movement the ship needs to be given.

The pitching will occur about the axis perpendicular to the propellor axis
and it will give the ship an up and down movement when the waves
comes across the ship in a direction from front end to rear end of the
ship
WITH GYROSCOPE WITHOUT GYROSCOPE
 APPLICATIONS OF GYROSCOPE

C. In Automobiles :-
a. Gyroscopic behaviour is used in the racing car industry. This is because the car engines
just act like big gyroscopes. Because of these Gyroscopic forces, from the engine
depending on whether the engine is spinning clockwise or anti-clockwise, the car’s nose
will be forced up or down.
 APPLICATIONS OF GYROSCOPE

GYRO - X

In automobiles , a very important invention related gyroscope was made back in 1960s. This
was named as the Gyro-X. It was a 2 wheeled car, which was resistant of any imbalance that
could occur in it while taking a turn. In the front part, there was the gyroscope and the engine
of this car was placed at the back.
 APPLICATIONS OF GYROSCOPE

D. In Electronics & Gadgets :-

For electronic gadgets, a MEMS (MicroElectroChemical Based) Gyroscope is

used for motion sensing in smartphones, computer mouses, video game controllers and
presentation mouses. Let's try to understand this MEMS in detail :

The MEMS uses a combination of mechanical oscillation and Coriolis Force.

Inside this MEMS, there is a block having a capacitive value, and this block moves w.r.t other
block inside the same MEMS. The Coriolis force depends on the angular momentum and
change in position of the mass block. Thus there is a change in the value of Coriolis force which
tends the capacitance to measure the overall angular rate of the object.
MEMS based Gyroscope
 GYROSCOPE IN MOBILE PHONES

Gyroscope is used in our mobile phones industry also. They were first used in
mobile phone by Apple company's iPhone 4, in which there was a very small sized 3-D
gyroscope, the only con of this mobile phone was that it was priced pretty high at a premium.

But nowadays, gyroscopes are intensively used in any mobile phone ranging from
a budget device to a premium device.
 GYROSCOPE IN MOBILE PHONES

The gaming industry in modern day India is growing by leaps and bumps, thereby the inclusion
of gyroscope in the games would increase the gaming experience of the user by a huge
amount.

The gyroscopes find a great use in mobile phones because of games like :

● In car racing games like Asphalt 9, they are used to control and steer the car while racing,
just by tilting the mobile phone sideways.

● In popular action shooting games like BGMI, CALL OF DUTY : MOBILE, there is a
special feature given in these games named ‘Gyroscope ‘, which us used by almost all of
us to control the recoil of the gun while firing, thereby increasing the shooting accuracy.
GYROSCOPE IN MOBILE PHONES
 GYROSCOPE IN MOBILE PHONES

Owing to the availability of smartphone and internet to majority people, the gyroscopes are
reducing the need of an external magnetic compass for determining the direction. The apk of
compass can today be found on almost all mobile phones, thereby there is no more need of
buying a magnetic compass.
 GYROSCOPE IN MOBILE PHONES
We would have often seen that in construction of houses and buildings, the surface of
the plinth or wall has to be made even, it can't be made uneven. Thus to know whether
the wall is even, i.e. horizontally or vertically even, we use a Surface Levelling device.
This surface Levelling device is nowadays also available in our mobile phones via a
software application.
 APPLICATIONS OF GYROSCOPE

E. In toys & everyday uses :-

a. Gyroscopes are used in various toys such as yo-yos, Frisbees, Gravitron, ChikyuGoma,
etc.
b. Gyroscopes are also used in modern day drones like POV Drones ( Point Of View Drones)
THANK YOU FOR
YOUR ATTENTION