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Construction of the Feeble Minded Disk

Materials:

  • Wooden disk

  • Circular drill bit

  • Circular mass which matches the size of the drill bit

  • 2 pieces of wood plank

  • Glue

  • Spray Paint

Procedure:

 

The Disk:

  1. Cut out or obtain a circular wooden disk

  2. Using a circular drill bit, drill out a hole near the outer perimeter of the wheel

  3. Insert the mass inside the hole and secure in place with glue

  4. Cover the hole on one side with another disk of equal size placed on top so that the mass is hidden on one side

  5. Spray paint the disk

 

The ramp:

  1. Use the wood planks to make a ramp

  2. Make sure that the elevation of the plank is not too high or else the wheel will not roll up the hill

  3. Glue to the two pieces together 

  4. Spray paint

Construction of the Bicycle Wheel Gyroscope

Materials:

  • Bicycle wheel

  • String

Procedure:

  1. Obtain a bicycle wheel

  2. Attach a thick, sturdy piece of string on one side of the bicycle wheel hub. Make sure that it is tied on securely

  3. Spin the wheel while holding the wheel hub

  4. Grab the string and see the wheel turn

Powerpoint Presentation used in Class

source: http://demoweb.physics.ucla.edu/content/experiment-7-rotation-and-gyroscopic-precession

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source: Eve Tsou

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