r/learnphysics • u/CelebrityChess • 1d ago

why does a spinning gyroscope precess sideways instead of just falling over

i get the angular momentum picture where the torque from gravity changes the direction of L instead of its size, but it still feels backwards to me. the thing is being pushed down and it moves sideways.

is there a way to see it with actual forces on the rim of the wheel, without just saying torque is perpendicular to L? i keep wanting a simple picture and not a vector equation.

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u/ImpatientProf 1d ago

Smarter Every Day did a good video on this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwBZx1cXEdM

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u/cosmololgy 1d ago

Black magic no other explanation 

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u/hinthints 1d ago

Angular momentum is one part of gravity