In this week’s Science Sunday Mark Dixon and Aoife Ryle talk about gyroscopes. Normally, the force of gravity causes objects to fall to the ground; however, when angular rotation is involved, an object can remain upright, creating a gyroscope. Think about if you were to tie a string to the center axis of a bike tire and hold it, the tire will remain stationary, but if you spin the tire, it will spin vertically due to the momentum. You have probably witnessed this effect if you have spun a coin vertically on a table and watched as it remained upright until it lost momentum and fell flat. Watch this week’s Science Sunday segment to see how it’s done.
There is so much more Science Sunday to explore. Check out the full gallery of segments on our blog: https://ctsciencecenter.org/blog_categories/science-sunday/.
Erica Presbie is a Community Engagement and Marketing Intern at the Connecticut Science Center. She is a senior Marketing major at Endicott College and enjoys participating in the collegiate dance club as well as teaching kids dance classes in her free time.
