An elementary treatment of the theory of spinning tops and gyroscopic motion, by Harold Crabtree.

72

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Now let us consider what happens as the vehicle rounds a
corner to the right, say. As the vehicle turns, the gyrostat
maintains its plane of rotation unaltered in direction, and is
thus, relative to the car, displaced out of its central position
in the plane FCD. To obviate this displacement, Mr. Brennan
makes use of a second gyrostat exactly similar to AB, mounted
(preferably) in the same plane on a parallel axle, but rotating
in the opposite direction; and the carriers of the two gyrostats
are connected by means of gearing, so that the rotation of one
carrier in one direction ensures a corresponding rotation of
the other carrier in the opposite direction. The movements
of the carriers are then controlled as before by a lever or
other suitable means. The gyrostat to which the device for
accelerating precession is fixed is called the actuating gyrostat.
Both are made to rotate in vacuo; otherwise the resistance
of the air at the necessary high speed of rotation would be
extremely great.
It will be noticed that the above principles apply whether
the car be moving backwards or forwards: also that the centre
of gravity of the vehicle can be made to move laterally in
relation to the axis of support without bringing gyroscopic
action into play, and thus the car is enabled to move round
a curve while maintaining a vertical position.
73. In order to illustrate the stability of Mr. Brennan's car,
Messrs. Newton of Fleet Street, London, make a gyroscope
HWZ B
A - -Y
Di E3
Fic. 34.
mounted as in Fig. 34, which will be seen to be virtually the
same as a model of the invention in its simplest form, Fig. 33.
In Fig. 34 an addition has been made to what (at the time
of writing) is actually sold by Messrs. Newton, suggested by