Science Around You – The Gyroscopic Effect
Published on 12 June 2023
The rugby match in April this year attracted more than 10,000 visitors. When you see a rugby player making a long-distance pass, have you ever wondered why the rugby ball can be passed to their teammates in such a precise fashion? To allow the ball to be passed to their teammates accurately, rugby players actually use a special method called "Dive Pass", please click here to visit and watch the video on our LCSD Edutainment Channel "Learning Sports 101".
The dive pass allows the ball to be passed to teammates stably because it employs the "Gyroscopic effect" in physics. We all know that when a top is spinning fast, the direction of its axis remains unchanged. Dive pass is to make the rugby ball rotate at the same time as it moves ahead. Just like a spinning top, the rugby will remain stable along its path due to spinning.
In addition to applying this principle to rugby, you can also make interesting toys by referencing to the attached pictures. Engineers install gyroscopes in robots as balancing devices. Want to know more? Please click here to watch the science demonstration "Technologies of Gyroscope and Robotics" by the Hong Kong Science Museum, and then try to apply this principle to your robot too.
1. Plastic bottle
2. Marker pen
3. Electrical tape
4. Scissors
1. Draw two parallel lines (about 8 to 9 cm in width) in the middle of the plastic bottle, and cut off the upper and lower parts.
2. Apply electrical tape to one end of the spiral ring to add weight to it (approximately 10 to 15 turns will be required)
Note: Do not pull the electrical tape tightly, because the tape will shrink after it is stuck, and pulling it too tightly will deform the spiral ring
Aim the spiral ring (the side that has been pasted with electrical tape) at the target, swing your arm and throw the spiral ring towards the target, when throwing the spiral ring, release your thumb and at the same time let your finger stick to the spiral ring and pull it down gently, it will fly like a rugby ball.