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Forces and motion
  • Physics
  • Mechanics
  • Floor 1

Gyro wheel

Sit on the stool and hold the bicycle wheel. Start it spinning, then try to turn its axle. What happens if you tip it over, what motion does the wheel take on?e!

Hold the bicycle wheel, start it spinning and try to tip and twist the wheel. Feel how it resists what you’re trying to do. Otherwise, you can ask someone else to start the wheel spinning. Repeat the same thing when you are sitting on the rotating stool. What you feel when you tip the wheel is known as the “gyro effect”. The gyro effect arises in this case when the direction of the wheel’s rotation changes.