Re: Gyratory effect

Mortimer wrote:
"turbo" <turbo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:M0aNi.25867$c_1.8363@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I tried this today with my bicycle, when I had the front wheel off to mend a
puncture. With the wheel rotating forwards (as if the bike was being ridden
forwards), I turned the wheel to the right (yawing it clockwise, as seen
from above), keeping the axle parallel with the ground. There was a force
trying to roll the axle to the right. Similarly, yawing the axle
anitclockwise caused a rolling force to the left.

For a bicycle wheel, almost the whole mass is spinning, so the gyroscopic effect is plainly obvious. As a scientist (well engineer), I applaud your effort in actually conducting an experiment and finding out for yourself what really happens.

This is the equivalent of a train with transverse traction motors. If the
train derails to the right (yawing clockwise), it will experience a
gyroscopic force that tries to roll it onto its right-hand side.

Whereas for a locomotive, the bulk of the mass will be in non-rotating components (engine block, locomotive and bogie frames etc). So while the gyroscopic forces from the spinning masses will exist, they will have little effect on the large inertia of the rest of the machine. Considering the other forces acting on a derailing locomotive, it is unlikely that the gyroscopic effects will be significant.

Robin
.

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