The Frenchman Jean Bernard Léon Foucault was the inventor of the gyroscope.
Gyroscope is a term that can be used synonymously with gyroscope . Both words refer to the disc that, while developing a rotation movement , maintains its axis unchanged no matter how much the direction of the support varies .
It should be noted that a disc is a cylindrical element that has a large base compared to its height. An axis , on the other hand, is the rod that, when passing through a rotating body, acts as its support in the movement.
Rotational movement , meanwhile, is the movement that an object makes around an axis. In the case of the gyroscope, the moving disk keeps the axis unchanged regardless of the variations that occur in the direction of the support.
What is a gyroscope
The gyroscope can be understood as a device that makes it possible to measure, preserve or vary the orientation of a device in space . Its structure consists of a body that has rotational symmetry and that rotates around the axis of this symmetry.
The behavior of the gyroscope, given its properties, constitutes a phenomenon known as the gyroscopic effect . This effect is visible in tops and spinning tops, for example.
Mechanical gyroscopes are used in the inertial navigation system of an aircraft and on ships to reduce roll. They are also used in the compass known as a gyrocompass .
Foucault's work
The French astronomer and physicist Jean Bernard Léon Foucault ( 1819 – 1868 ) was the one who invented the gyroscope as a device. In 1851 , Foucault had introduced a large pendulum (now known as the Foucault pendulum ) to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth .
However, this pendulum reached a rotation speed lower than the rotation speed of the planet. To demonstrate his theory in a simpler way, the following year Foucault unveiled the gyroscope, by installing a rotating body on a gimbal suspension.
A gyroscope helps minimize the swaying or rolling of an aircraft.
Current use of gyroscope
It can be stated, in short, that a gyroscope is a tool that maintains, changes or measures rotational movement . Currently, gyroscopes are usually sensors used to measure angular velocity or to establish the orientation of an autonomous navigation system.
Most cell phones or mobile phones manufactured today have a gyroscope. This sensor allows you to determine the tilt of the screen and contributes to control in certain games, to mention two possibilities.
Typically, the gyroscope is complemented by other sensors. This way the system can register if the phone is moving in any axis or know precisely where its location is.
Making a plan, taking a panoramic or 3D photograph and studying the heart rate are some of the actions that can be carried out with a smartphone thanks to the gyroscope.
Its importance in virtual reality
It is curious that the principles of the gyroscope that Foucault created more than one hundred and sixty years ago are the pillars of some of the most innovative technological applications of the 21st century . Augmented reality and virtual reality , in this framework, are based on the gyroscope.
This is because, thanks to the phone's gyroscope, the user can move around the digital environment and achieve a feeling of complete immersion. The sensor causes the equipment to recognize and react to the person's movements, using that information in the construction of the augmented or virtual universe.