THE GYROCAR 



If you have taken the trouble to follow carefully the 

 description just given, you will be prepared to understand 

 the anomalies of action of the gyrocar; for example, 

 why its side rises when a weight is placed on it ; why it 

 leans toward the wind, and why it leans to the inner and 

 not to the outer side of the track in rounding a curve. 

 The substance of the explanation is that the greater the 

 force brought to bear on the roller R, by the segment of 

 the car that strikes against it, the stronger its precession, 

 and hence the more powerful its lift. The oscillations 

 and counter-oscillations thus brought about continue to 

 operate powerfully on the roller Ri so long as the weight 

 of the car is out of balance ; and balance is restored only 

 when the heavier side of the car rises, bringing the 

 centre of gravity over the track, just as a man carry- 

 ing a weight on the right shoulder leans toward the 

 left, and vice-versa. Thus, when the gyrocar has 

 a heavy weight on one side, or encounters a strong 

 wind, it may lean far over, but still be perfectly and 

 securely balanced, the gyroscopes finally remaining 

 quiescent in their new position until some new dis- 

 turbance is applied. 



It remains to be said, however, that there is another 

 element introduced when the car rounds a curve. To 

 understand this, we must revert to the action of the 

 Foucault gyrostat, as illustrated in diagram i. If you 

 held such a gyrostat in your hand in the upright position 

 in which it is shown in the diagram, and whirled it about, 

 the axis O A would of course maintain a fixed direction 

 so long as the gyrostat was free to revoive on the axis 

 D E. But if you prevented such revolution, as by clutch- 



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