The gyro effect explained, without math

I had never seen the gyro disc tilt experiment done by blowing on it - great idea! Nicely illustrated.

THAT ORBIT EARTH MODLE WAS THE BEST EXPLANATION EVER!!

Ride thru a puddle, then take a sharp left turn. You will see from the tracks that you took a quick right turn first to start the bike tipping left. And this is why learning to ride a bike takes time.

This is by far the best explanation of the gyro effect I've ever seen, and I've taken university physics. Bravo, bravo sir!

Yes, that aspect is something everybody already covers. I wanted to cover the part everybody else leaves out.

This is a very nice way to explain this phenomenon! It is also called the precession effect. We also need to consider this effect when designing helicopter since the rotor is subject to that effect as well. For example, if we want to move forward, we need to applied a force downward 90 degrees before the blade is in the forward position.

you planning a wooden space station? i wouldn't put it past you ¬_¬

Kerbal Space Program prepared me for this.

That is without a doubt the clearest, most intuitive explanation I've ever seen of this effect. Thanks!

How many of us have asked ourselves questions similar to this, but never take the time to figure out the why. Thanks Matthias for sharing your mind. Please continue to educate us.

Thanks, Matthias. I've never understood this before. Here's my way to word it. Pushing a moving object to the side changes its course in the direction of the push. If the object is restrained to travel in a circle, by gravity, a tether, etc., the object will always return to the same spot where the sideways push was given. That means the 2 points where the object is furthest from its original path will be 1/4 & 3/4 of the way around the circle from the place where the force was applied.

I'm not the sharpest tool in the box, but I actually understood it all. You did a great job explaining. Object lessons are the best!

Feynman would have loved this video.

As a young teenager (1960's) we liked to do the following experiment. After turning our bike upside down, onto its handle bar and seat, we would remove the front wheel. As I held the wheel by its axel (on both sides with both hands) my younger brother would crank the pedals of the bike causing the rear wheel to turn. I would touch the front wheel to the rear wheel which would cause my wheel to spin crazy fast. I could then let go of one side of the axel and due to the gyroscopic effect it would stay up with support on just one side. At that time we didn't know the reason but it sure was neat to do. We also learned that if you dropped the wheel on the ground it would take off like a bat out of you know where and go until it hit a tree or other immovable object. lol Oh the joys of an inquisitive mind. Keep it up, Matthais. I learned later that if you were standing on a turntable and holding the spinning wheel, tilting it would cause you to rotate. I understand that's how rocket ships were guided.

The center of lift for the Frisbee is near the center of the Frisbee, so no torque is alpplied

Wow, after memorizing the vector explanation for this (and subsequently having to puzzle through it every time it comes up) this is an amazing and intuitive way to think about it. Thank you!

That depends on your definition of "understand". Easy enough to draw a bunch of angular momentum vectors, but do you understand why they behave that way?

No, because, without lift, the disk will curve downwards, and it's direction of motion becomes non parallel to it's surface. But if you throw it oriented vertically, it stays vertical (but you get no lift)

Probably the best explanation that I have ever heard in 20 years. In or out of a classroom.

all that crap at school and i never understood gyroscopes until now , thank you. this is the best explanation of gyroscopes i have ever seen.