What else are gyroscopes used for?

Navigation

Have you ever wondered why planes and spacecrafts can judge their direction with such absolute precision? Gyroscopes are used in virtually all aviation and space technology in order to measure precise changes in orientation. When you try to change the direction of a spinning gyroscope this creates a force that instruments can detect with extreme precision.

Precision balance

Gyroscopes help items to balance far better once the wheel or rotor is spinning. A gyroscope has zero balance while its rotor wheel is stationary and will fall over when you try to balance it. But once the rotor wheel is set in motion the gyroscope comes alive, allowing it to perform all manner of what seem like gravity-defying tricks and movements. For example, robots use gyroscopes to help them balance. Internal gyroscopes sense changes in direction and counter this with an opposite force to keep robots upright. Once a gyroscope is spinning and facing in one direction, it doesn’t like to change that direction and will ‘fight’ hard against anything that tries to make it do so.