E X PE R I M E NT M A N UA L Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizerstr. 5-7, 70184 Stuttgart, Germany | +49 (0) 711 2191-0 | www.kosmos.de Thames & Kosmos, 301 Friendship St., Providence, RI, 02903, USA | 1-800-587-2872 | www.thamesandkosmos.com Thames & Kosmos UK Ltd, Goudhurst, Kent, TN17 2QZ , United Kingdom | 01580 212000 | www.thamesandkosmos.co.
› › › IMPORTANT INFORMATION Safety Information ››› Warning! Not suitable for children under 3 years. Choking hazard — small parts may be swallowed or inhaled. ››› The models in this kit have moving parts. Please always be careful that fingers, hair, other body parts, or delicate objects are not harmed by or caught in the moving parts. Handle the models carefully. ››› Do not touch the rotating gyroscope or rotating flywheel when they are rotating rapidly.
Gyroscopes & Flywheels › › › TIPS AND TRICKS USING THE GYROSCOPE BUILDING TIPS There are eight possible insertion slots in the rip-cord gyroscope for the rip cords. Use only one at a time. Please note the markings on the top and bottom of the gyroscope housing which indicate the direction in which to insert the rip cords. Do not insert the rip cord into a slot if the gyroscope is still spinning. ANCHOR PINS AND CONNECTORS Take a careful look at the different assembly components.
GO OD TO KNOW! If you are mis sing any par ts, ple ase con tac t Tha me s & Kos mo s cus tom er ser vice . › › › KIT CONTENTS What’s inside your experiment kit: 1 2 13 3 4 14 22 5 6 15 23 7 8 16 9 17 24 US: tec hsu ppo rt@tha me san dko sm os.c om UK : tec hsu ppo rt@tha me san dko sm os.c o.u k 18 10 19 11 20 12 21 27 25 31 26 29 30 28 Checklist: Find – Inspect – Check off 2 No. Description 1 Short anchor pin Qty. 19 Item No. No. Description Qty. Item No.
Gyroscopes & Flywheels › › › TABLE OF CONTENTS Safety Information ........... Inside front A Word to Parents ............. Inside front Tips and Tricks...................................... 1 Kit Contents ........................................... 2 Table of Contents ................................. 3 TIP! tal You will find supplemen ck It information in the “Che 8, 21, s Out” sections on page 26, and 32. The Gyroscopic Effect.......................... 4 The amazing gyro ...............................
The Gyroscopic Effect How is a spinning top able to balance on one small point? How does your smartphone know to change the orientation of its screen when it is turned on its side? Both of these things work because of gyroscopes and gyroscopic forces! In the following experiments, you will investigate how a gyroscope works and how gyroscopes are used in many different ways.
The Gyroscopic Effect EXPERIMENT 1 HERE’S HOW 1 The amazing gyro 8 Place one of the rip cords through the rip cord slot in the side of the gyroscope. Pull the rip cord quickly and forcefully to start the gyroscope’s rotor turning. Hold the gyroscope in your hand and turn it upside down. 9 Turn the gyroscope from side-to-side, both with and against the direction that the rotor disk in the gyroscope is spinning. Try balancing it on its corner.
EXPERIMENT 2 1 Balancing top 2 YOU WILL NEED 1 6x 3 6 1x 1x 24 16 17 2x 1x 19 23 1x 1x 2 29 31 3 2x 1x 1x HERE’S HOW 1 to 4 Assemble the model first with the purple two-to-one converter piece on the bottom. 5 Place one of the rip cords on the table. Insert the other rip cord into the gyroscope. Pull the rip cord to start the gyroscope spinning. 6 Place the gyroscope on the first rip cord. Then lift the cord up in the air with two hands.
Gyroscopes & Flywheels EXPERIMENT 3 1 Gyroscopic forces 2 YOU WILL NEED 1 4 7 10 x 1x 2x 23 16 17 1x 2x 24 18 1x 19 22 2x 3x 29 31 2 1x 3 1x 1x 1x HERE’S HOW 1 7 8 to 6 Assemble the model. First, without starting the rotor inside the gyroscope spinning, try to balance it on the stand a few times. 4 Insert one of the rip cords into the slot in the side of the gyroscope. Pull the rip cord. Now try to balance the gyroscope while the rotor is spinning.
CHECK IT OUT Precession You saw in the previous experiments that the gyroscopic effect keeps the spinning gyroscope from falling over. However, the gyroscope will react to external forces applied to it by changing the direction of its axis of rotation. This change in the orientation of the rotational axis is called precession. Even as the rotor is spinning around the axis of rotation, the axis of rotation itself is rotating around a second axis.
Gyroscopes & Flywheels EXPERIMENT 4 n with Determining locatio gyroscopes The spinning robot YOU WILL NEED 1 5 6 9 6x 2x 4x 4x 16 18 22 1x 2x 26 1x 10 12 1x 2x 13 14 15 1x 1x ds tory assembly line nee Image a robot in a fac do to d k up a part, an to turn its arm to pic in know exactly where to ds nee ot rob so, the sor sen ic d. A gyroscop space its arm is locate sed The sensor works ba s. thi do ot rob the helps nd po res es w gyroscop on the principle of ho nt pulls).
EXPERIMENT 4 6 Flip over HERE’S HOW 1 9 to 8 Assemble the model. Pull the rip cord so that the rotor disk in the gyroscope turns clockwise. Does the rest of the model rotate clockwise or counterclockwise? Repeat this with the wheel turning counterclockwise. 7 8 WHAT’S HAPPENING When the rotor disk rotates clockwise, the body rotates clockwise. Then when the rotor disk rotates counterclockwise, the body also rotates counterclockwise.
Gyroscopes & Flywheels Momentum Why does a figure skater spin faster when they move their arm closer to their body? How does the Earth behave like a top? In the following experiments you will learn about another property of gyroscopes and flywheels called momentum.
EXPERIMENT 5 Forces of resistance Balancing robot es not the ground and it do If you roll a ball on ling? rol p sto it , why does bump into anything ause of bec is g lin rol ps sto The reason the ball tion by force that resist s mo friction. Friction is a rub your u yo If t. hea o int n converting that motio up due will feel them heat hands together you the ball d an n tio fric no s to friction.
Gyroscopes & Flywheels EXPERIMENT 6 Note: This model is intended to be used with the track included in the kit. Instructions for track assembly start on the next page. Rip-cord gyrobot and track Objects in motion YOU WILL NEED 1 2 6 17 x 3x 6x 13 14 21 3x 8 3x 9 4x 15 1x 1x 20 7 4x 16 1x 17 2x 2x 2x 19 1x 23 2x 25 11 18 1x 2x 22 10 5x 24 2x 26 HERE’S HOW 1x 1 27 4x 2x 2x 30 2x 31 1x 2 to 5 Assemble the rip-cord gyrobot model.
EXPERIMENT 7 Launch chute assembly 6 to 12 Now assemble the launch chute. This structure acts as a chute to help you quickly load the rip-cord gyrobot onto the track, so it’s easier to get the gyrobot perfectly positioned and running on the track before its gyroscope rotor or flywheel run down too much.
Gyroscopes & Flywheels EXPERIMENT 7 10 11 12 Launch chute CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE 15
EXPERIMENT 7 “U-turn” track assembly 13 to 18 Now assemble the track. Follow the instructions here to build the “U-turn” track design. There are nine other track configuration suggestions on pages 18–20.
Gyroscopes & Flywheels EXPERIMENT 7 16 17 14 15 18 “U-turn” track 19 Inset rip cords into the gyroscope (top) and flywheel engine (bottom) components of the rip-cord gyrobot model. 20 Hold the model by the underside of the gyroscope. Place the gyrobot on the track in the launch chute, making sure that the wheels are centered on the ridge of the track. Pull the rip cords at the same time (or start with the gyroscope rip cord) and immediately release the gyrobot.
EXPERIMENT 8: ALTERNATE TRACK “S-turn” track 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 “S-turn” track 18
Gyroscopes & Flywheels EXPERIMENT 9: ALTERNATE TRACK “Himalaya” track 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 “Himalaya” track CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE 19
EXPERIMENTS 10 –16: MORE TRACK IDEAS Go to this web address for step-by-step assembly instructions for these track configurations: http://goo.
Gyroscopes & Flywheels CHECK IT OUT Conservation of Momentum The momentum of an object is directly related to the amount of mass of the object and how fast the object is moving in a specific direction, or its velocity. The faster and heavier the object, the more momentum it has. When an object is moving in a straight line it has what is called linear momentum. The momentum of an object is conserved.
EXPERIMENT 17 Spinning around Breakdancer YOU WILL NEED 1 2 10 x 3x 6 2x 19 21 2x 1x 7 10 1x 16 2x 22 17 1x 2x 23 2x 2x 1 1x 26 1x 1x 24 2x 25 18 does it object is spinning — How about when an object an en wh , ! Howe ver have momentum? Yes gular an led cal is m ntu is spinning the mome re physics becomes mo momentum and the comple x.
Gyroscopes & Flywheels EXPERIMENT 17 5 6 7 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE’S HOW 1 8 to 7 Assemble the model. Insert the rip cord into the slot in the gyroscope. Hold the base of the model and pull the rip cord. What do you observe? The gyroscope stays spinning due to conservation of its angular momentum. But as it spins, the gyroscope’s momentum is transferred to other parts of the model, which is what causes the model to move. The gyroscope eventually stops spinning.
EXPERIMENT 18 momentum Conserving angular Headspinning breakdancer around n figure skaters spin If you have ever see bring their n the d an d che ret with their arms outst that ir bodie s, you will see arms in close to the ir bodie s, the to se clo s arm ir when they bring the that ter.
Gyroscopes & Flywheels EXPERIMENT 18 7 8 6 HERE’S HOW 1 9 to 8 Assemble the model. Place the arms of the breakdancer stretched out as far away from the center of its body as possible. 10 Hold the model upside down by the top surface of the gyroscope. Insert one of the rip cords into the slot in the side of the gyroscope. Pull the rip cord and place the breakdancer down on the tabletop standing on its head.
CHECK IT OUT Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, and Inertia People once believed that a continuously applied force (a push or pull) was required to keep an object in motion, even with no other forces resisting its motion. We now know that an object in motion will stay in motion unless forces act on it to stop its motion. For example, an object will stop moving because of friction with its environment, like the ground it’s moving on or the air or water it’s moving through.
Flywheels From your experiments with gyroscopes, you have seen that they can hold a lot of energy. The energy is used to move the models in which the gyroscopes are installed. The energy is stored in the heavy spinning rotor disk inside the gyroscope. This spinning disk is also called a flywheel and it has other applications in addition to gyroscopes. A flywheel is a heavy disk that is used to store rotational energy. The energy can then be used to drive machines.
EXPERIMENT 19 1 Motorcycle YOU WILL NEED 1 7 5x 9 3x 2x 26 10 11 2x 1x 20 3x 24 1x 30 31 1x 2x 1x 2 3 5 4 28
Gyroscopes & Flywheels EXPERIMENT 19 6 7 HERE’S HOW 1 8 to 7 Assemble the model. Insert the rip cord into the slot in the flywheel engine. Hold the model, pull the rip cord, and place the model on a smooth tabletop. What do you observe? WHAT’S HAPPENING The flywheel inside the flywheel engine is connected to one of the engine’s wheels. When you pull the rip code, you are adding a lot of rotational energy to the flywheel. By setting the flywheel in motion, you are increasing its angular momentum.
EXPERIMENT 20 Trike motorcycle 1 YOU WILL NEED 1 5 5x 2x 21 22 1x 1x 30 7 9 2x 1x 10 12 2x 2x 24 19 20 1x 2x 26 1x 2x 31 1x 1x 3 2 4 30 5
Gyroscopes & Flywheels EXPERIMENT 20 6 7 HERE’S HOW 1 8 to 7 Assemble the model. Insert the rip cord into the slot in the flywheel engine. Hold the model, pull the rip cord, and place the model on a smooth tabletop. What do you observe? WHAT’S HAPPENING The flywheel engine works the same way in this experiment as in the previous experiment. The main difference is that this model has two extra wheels that help stabilize the model so it doesn’t fall over as easily.
CHECK IT OUT Did you know? Flywheels in Action Flywheels are usually large, heavy wheels with a large moment of inertia. They are designed to have a lot of weight around their outer edges. As you learned in the experiment with the headspinning breakdancer, the farther away an object’s mass is located from its axis of rotation, the larger its moment of inertia. The gyroscopic effect is also at play when you tilt a bicycle when entering a curve.
Kosmos Quality and Safety More than one hundred years of expertise in publishing science experiment kits stand behind every product that bears the Kosmos name. Kosmos experiment kits are designed by an experienced team of specialists and tested with the utmost care during development and production. With regard to product safety, these experiment kits follow European and US safety standards, as well as our own refined proprietary safety guidelines.
Artikelnummer 665106-03-270516
