This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1914 edition. Excerpt: ...that so long as the axle lies North and South and is horizontal, it is not affected by the action of gravity. If for any reason it is displaced from the meridian (but not so far as a West-East position), the rotation of the earth still causes a dip, and therefore the gravity couple comes into play, restoring CN to the North-South position; while at the same time a couple is produced by air-currents which eliminates dip as CN approaches the meridian. A mathematical discussion of the forces called into play is given in Appendix V. CHAPTER VI. STEADY MOTION OF A TOP. 75. The student is reminded at the commencement of this chapter that, when a solid body is under consideration, (i) Angular velocity about any line means total angular velocity--not relative to some moving plane, unless this is expressly stated. (ii) Angular velocity about a line which is moving means (total) angular velocity about the line fixed in space, with which the moving line happens to be coinciding at the instant in question. 76. In the preceding chapter the bodies whose rotation we have discussed have been symmetrical bodies, as, for example, a fly-wheel; and all the rotations have been about an axis of symmetry, i.e. the axle. If the axis were not an axis of symmetry, an angular velocity about this axis would in general involve angular momentum (about this axis, and also) about the two axes perpendicular to it, as is shown in the next article. In this chapter we propose to discuss the equations of motion of an ordinary spinning top, in which case it is clear that only the axle of the top is an axis of symmetry, and any other axis is not. But we shall see in Art. 79 that, since the top is a solid of revolution, any axis perpendicular to the axle of the top is the same...

Excerpt from An Elementary Treatment of the Theory of Spinning Tops and Gyroscopic Motion The object of this book is to bring within the range of the abler Mathematicians at our Public Schools and of First Year undergraduates at the Universities, a subject which has hitherto been considered too difficult for any but the more advanced students in Mathematics, while even they have in many cases failed to derive more pleasure from the study of spinning tops than is contained in submitting the problem to the action of a complicated piece of Mathematical machinery which automatically, though unintelligently, turns out the correct result. In this attempt to present an elementary, and at the same time a scientific view of the subject, I have expanded several of the suggestive ideas put forward in Dynamics of Rotation by Professor Worthington, to whom is due a large debt of thanks for much liberal criticism and assistance in the earlier chapters, and for permission to borrow his article on Brennan's Monorail. In my other critics I have been similarly fortunate. Dr. Besant, Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, read and commented on several chapters in their first edition of manuscript; and in dedicating this volume to him I have endeavoured to express the interest in the subject, and the love of it, which I owe to his inspiring teaching. Professor Hopkinson of the Engineering Laboratory at Cambridge has also read certain portions, while much assistance has been rendered by my friend and late colleague Mr. W. M. Page, Fellow of Kings College, Cambridge, with whom I have spent many pleasant hours discussing various points. Lastly, the whole work has been carefully criticised by Mr. G. Bistwistle, Fellow and Principal Mathematical Lecturer of Pembroke College, Cambridge, to whom my sincerest thanks are due for much time devoted to the book and for many valuable suggestions. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

An Unabridged Reprinting Of The 1909 Edition, To Include All Figures: Behavior Of Ordinary Spinning Tops, Tops Containing Liquid, Celts, The Gyroscopic Top, The Gyroscope - Rotation About A Fixed Axis - Representation Of Angular Velocity, Precession - Discussion Of The Phenomena Described In The Introductory Chapter (Rise And Fall Of The Top, Behavior Of A Top Containing Liquid, The Gyroscopic Top, Effect Of Reactions In The Mounting Of A Gyroscope, Explanation Of The Behavior Of Celts) - The Starting Of Precession, Oscillations Of The Gyroscope (Conservation Of Angular Momentum, Illustrations, Summary Of Results, Increase Of Precession Of A Dying Top, Inertia, Dipping Of A Gyroscope At The Start Of Precession, Oscillations, Summary Of Results, Principle Of Energy Applied To A Rising Top, Principle Of Energy Applied To A Dying Top, Energy Lost In Heat, Electrical Analogy) - Practical Applications (The Steering Of A Torpedo, Steadying Vessels At Sea, Brennan's Monorail) - Steady Motion Of A Top - General Motion Of A Top - Moving Axes - Stability Of Rotation, Periods Of Oscillation - Miscellaneous Examples - Appendix - Answers To Examples - Answers To Questions

The lecture series on the Theory of the Top was originally given as a dedication to Göttingen University by Felix Klein in 1895, but has since found broader appeal. The Theory of the Top: Volume I. Introduction to the Kinematics and Kinetics of the Top is the first of a series of four self-contained English translations that provide insights into kinetic theory and kinematics.