THE GYROSCOPE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1509, 3 August 1912, Page 12

THE GYROSCOPE.

INTERESTING AND CURIOUS APPLICATIONS. At the recent soiree of the Royal Society in London, a number of interesting and curious applications of gyroscopic action were exhibited. As yet no simple ' and non-mathematical explanation of this puzzling phenomenon has been generally accepted. The mathematicians say it ia simple enough, and then belie themselves by writing you out five or six quarto pages of higher mathematics. _ One of them has turned gravitation upside down in an effort to illuminate the subject. For tho lnytnan, however, the gyroscope still remains a nioohauical freak, One of the gyrostats at tho soiree waa hung from a wire frame by two chains. Tho frame could be tilted, and when this was done, and tho proper whirling speed had been attained, the box containing tho gyrostat swung, arm over arm, along tho wires. This machine was electrically driven. Another hand-spun gyrostat, in a box with lege, produced a good imitation of walking when the box was tilted. There was also a gyrostatic bicycle model, tho handlo-bara being connected with a gyrostat on tho saddle. Tho model was self-righting and under the automatic control of tho gyrostat, which bohayed exactly like a rider so far as keeriing the machine upright was concerned.' Another piece of apparatus was designed to show bho possible danger of tho gyroscopic effect to acroplanists. A model aeroplane was fitted with a gyrostat instead of a propcllor. When suspended with tho gyrostat in operation it was shown that a force tending to push the aeroplane toward ono sido caused n sudden diving of tho latter, whilo if the sido force was reversed tho tendency of the nose of tho aeroplane was to rise. Tho rotary engines used in aeroplanes and the propellers have some gyroscopic effect, and it is quite possible that their action in this way may account for some of tho puzzling accidents to aoroplandsts. Tho earth itself is a great gyroscope, and ouo of tho exhibits consisted of Professor Love's 'apparatus first shown to tho British Association two years ago, for illustrating tho slight wobbling of tho earth's axis, which causes it "to describe a small irregular spiral not moro than .sixty feet in diameter, probably." Perhaps tho two most interesting attempts to put the gyroscope to practical use, ore those of Bronnen, and Anschutz Knmpfe. The former built a monorail car which is retained in an upright position on its single rail by gyroscopic action, and Dr. Anschutz Knmpfe has devised a gyroscopic comnnss that always points toward the North Pole, It seems a curious anomaly that a flywheel whirling at the Tate of something like twenty thousand turns a minute should furnish a dependable compass—one in steadiness • and freedom from outside interference superior in ninny ways to the mngnetio needle. Tho fact that the gyroscope compass is used on several German warships is goid testimony in favour of its value. It depends for its oomnass action upon the fact pointed out by Foucnult many years ago, that the gyroscope has the peculiar habit of automatically arranging its axis parallel with that of the earth. In other words it acts just as doos the mapnetic needle in always pointing north and south. Foueault immediately saw the possibility of its uso as a compass, but was unable to overcome the very considerable mechanical difficulties in tho way of such an application of it. The chief defect of the gyroscopic compass at the present writing, from a prae. ncal point of view at least, is its extreme cost. Tho Annahutz Ka.mpfe instrument installed on the Pontsehland M the Gorman Navy) cost five thousand doi'firs. or theronlrmts. According to Dv. A. S. Chcssin, who is a reeocrosod authority on gyroscpoe". tho use cf the gyroscopic compa»3 is likely to be limited to warships, and oven on those vessel magnetic coiii> rws-ios will nl«> be carried for ordinary n«u. , There seem to bo considerable possibilitw in the protxwtjitse of gyroscopes as stabilisers on torpedo boats' anH -tin l'ke, possibly own nn very larce ships, They have been used for some time ir steering aaid steadying naval torpedoes.