A gyroscope is a rotating mass that operates on the principle of "Rigidity in Space". What this means is that once the gyroscope is
spinning, it tends to remain in its position and resists being moved. A good example is a bicycle wheel. If you were to hold a wheel by its axle and then spin it
faster and faster, you would see this. As the wheel begins to spin, it is easy to tilt it back and forth, however as it gets
spinning faster, it gets harder and harder to tilt it. This is what "rigidity in space" means. The greater the spinning mass and the closer that mass is located to the
spinning axis, the better the gyro will be. Imagine the above illustration as that biclycle tire. Notice that as the gyro spins faster, it becomes harder and harder to
deflect the gyro. Once the gyro is spinning, it can be used to show movements around a given axis. The illustration shows how the gyro can be used in an attitude indicator to
show pitch and bank. This illustration shows a vertical gyro, not a horizontally aligned gyro as actually used in the attitude indicator. This is merely used to show the
similarity between the bicycle tire and the spinning gyro that will serve to steady the attitude indicator. The gyro in the upper right that is paired with the attitude indicator's
movements is actually the way the gyro is mounted.
Another valuable principle that the gyroscopic instruments use is "gyroscopic
precession.
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