What is the purpose of a gyroscope on a boat and how does it work?
In: Engineering
There are, depending on the boat, several purposes for gyroscopes on that boat. You may find this answer too vague for your liking, but if you could be more specific then so could I.
A gyroscope is a fast-spinning wheel. Because it is spinning so fast, it is difficult to change the orientation of this wheel – it tends to keep spinning in the same direction for the same reason that a car will mostly tend to keep moving once it gets going.
This tendency to keep pointing in the same direction makes gyroscopes useful for anything that requires that. It can be for tracking direction in navigation, finding true north on our rotating planet, or even keeping a surface stable on a swaying ship.
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