Bicycle Wheel Gyro

Sit in the rotating chair and hold a rapidly spinning bicycle wheel by the handles attached to the center hub. As you tip the bicycle wheel to one side, the chair begins to rotate either right or left, depending on the direction the wheel is spinning. When you tilt the spinning wheel to the left it spins you to the right; the force pushes you in the opposite direction of the tilt.

The bicycle wheel can also be hung from a freely rotating cable by an eyeloop in one of its handles. While the wheel is spinning, it remains upright and “revolves” around the suspension cable. This exhibit shows the strange, non-intuitive attributes of spinning gyros. Any object that spins will hold to its axis, until a force is applied from outside.

Magicians who spin plates on the top of a stick are demonstrating gyroscopic motion. Spaceships use gyroscopic motion; rotating planets show gyroscopic or rotational motion. Even boomerangs rotate. All have a center of gravity and an axis that provide the stability for the spinning objects. They all demonstrate angular momentum as they rotate about their axis until an outside force causes them to change angle or direction. Spin an object very quickly, and watch what it does as the speed of the spinning slows down.

Questions to Ask

Which direction will the chair move if the spinning wheel is tilted to the right? Does it appear to push you away or pull you toward the direction of the spin?

If the spinning wheel rotates around the central axis, when you are holding it, where is the new center of axis for the spinning system?

How does the gyroscopic force show that angular momentum is not lost (conserved) within the system?

Relevant Arkansas Science Frameworks

PS.6.2.1, PS.6.4.1, PS.6.5.1, PS.6.5.2, PS.6.5.3, (PS.6.6.4), PS.6.7.5, PS 6.7.6, PS.6.6.7, PS.6.6.8, P.6.PS.1, P.6.PS.11

"Mini-Vibe" — An activity to do at home or in the classroom