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ccc4
15-08-2006, 23:21
what if you were aboard a tiny spaceship and started powerballing, how would the craft react?

what if all 400 passengers on board an airplane started powerballing in unison, could the plane be deviated from it's flight path?:D - and don't call the FBI on me.:eek:
jjarman
16-08-2006, 08:43
I've seen the gyroscopes used on jets!
They are pretty darn large and powerful, I'm talking big.
A completely different magnitude of power then hand gyroscopes.
A friend bought a used surplus one from a fighter jet in an online auction.
I don't know if he ever spun it up though, it was primarily a conversation piece.
It weighs A LOT and can pivot in all directions inside of its housing.

Who wants to experiment on their bicycle/skateboard/rollerblades? ;)
donkapone
16-08-2006, 10:59
actually, there is a bike with a gyroscope called gyro-bike or something like that... its purpose is for children to use two wheel bikes without two helper wheels. When it starts to lean on the side, it automatically places a bike straight again. Found it - http://www.thegyrobike.com/
Adrena1in
16-08-2006, 12:37
I mean, ANY bike can be pushed along, and if it's going fast enough it'll stay mostly upright. (Haven't you ever seen a runaway motorbike? They can carry on for ages with no rider.) I remember having a toy motorbike as a kid, and the back wheel was quite thick...you could push that along and it would carry on by itself. I guess the Gyrobike just has a particularly heavy wheel.

As for spinning a Powerball on a little spaceship, I think the spaceship would just bounce up and down a bit.

I would love to think that gyroscopes could be practically used in propulsion or anti-gravity. I did read somewhere once that a bloke, as an experiment, dropped two gyroscopes, one which was spinning fast, and the spinning one did fall slightly slower than the non-spinning one. I think the difference was marginal, but does imply some anti-gravity properties. (I assume he dropped them in a vacuum, and did the experiment many times of course.)
ccc4
16-08-2006, 14:10
this has got to be the ultimate gyro: :cool:

http://einstein.stanford.edu/content/pict_gal/main_index.html
Dennis
16-08-2006, 16:45
Hey Enda,

Will these http://einstein.stanford.edu/content/pict_gal/main_index.html become available for purchase from powerballs.com too? ;)

Kind regards,
Dennis

Adrena1in: Corrected link...missing "ml" on the end! :)
jjarman
17-08-2006, 05:19
actually, there is a bike with a gyroscope called gyro-bike or something like that... its purpose is for children to use two wheel bikes without two helper wheels. When it starts to lean on the side, it automatically places a bike straight again. Found it - http://www.thegyrobike.com/

I might get one of these for my daughter next year.
Thanks for the link and information!
Adrena1in
17-08-2006, 08:31
Will these http://einstein.stanford.edu/content/pict_gal/main_index.html become available for purchase from powerballs.com too? ;) I looked at that site, but perhaps I'm blind or just stupid...what exactly is it? I gather it's some sort of space-probe, but is it meant to have a gyroscopic propulsion system or something, or are they just gyroscopic stabilisers? :confused:
jjarman
17-08-2006, 09:02
I looked at that site, but perhaps I'm blind or just stupid...what exactly is it? I gather it's some sort of space-probe, but is it meant to have a gyroscopic propulsion system or something, or are they just gyroscopic stabilisers? :confused:

I beleive that it is to measure fluxiations in gravity, or gravitational waves, just like the masive laser grid project. Trying to prove or disprove Einstein's Theory of Relativity, and/or catch a glimps of the wake left by the formation of our Universe. I think...;)

Or...maybe they are just the worlds most dedicated Powerball fanatics trying to make the ultimate record!
Dennis
17-08-2006, 11:30
Hi Adrena1in,

...what exactly is it?...

Uh, wel... I dunno. I'm a biologist and easily impressed by fancy-looking mechanical devices. To me it looks like an increadibly smooth ball inside some sort of casing. So I presume it's a super-balanced PowerBall (as more or less suggested by jjarman), with which you can obtain speeds well over 850Hz or so? Maybe I'm exaggerating... :rolleyes:

Anyway, since I'm addicted to anything that even remotely resembles a PowerBall, I figured I just had to have it. ;)

Kind regards,
Dennis