Spinning Flywheel Demonstration

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the spinning-flywheel weight-lifting demonstration.

Flywheel

A 40-pound (19-kg) heavy wheel that stores rotational energy and is mounted at the end of a one-meter shaft.

Shaft

The meter-long rod connected to the flywheel, acting as both handle and rotational axis.

Torque

A turning force; gravity acting on the spinning wheel creates a torque that produces precession instead of letting the wheel fall.

Gyroscopic Precession

The motion of a spinning object’s axis at right angles to an applied torque, keeping the flywheel’s shaft horizontal while it circles.

RPM

Revolutions per minute; the flywheel is spun up to several thousand RPM to maximize gyroscopic effects.

Apparatus

The custom equipment built by the University of Sydney’s mechanical-engineering shop: flywheel, shaft, and motor used in the demo.

Angular Momentum

The conserved quantity of rotational motion that stabilizes the spinning flywheel against tipping.

Rotational Inertia

An object’s resistance to changes in its rotational motion; high for the heavy-rimmed flywheel.

Scale Reading

The total weight displayed when the presenter stands on a scale with the apparatus, used to test if lifting the spinning wheel changes apparent weight.

Prediction

The hypothesis viewers are invited to make—whether the scale will read more, less, or equal to 91 kg while the spinning flywheel is lifted.

Weightlessness Illusion

The feeling that the spinning flywheel is ‘incredibly light,’ caused by gyroscopic effects rather than actual weight loss.

University of Sydney

The site of the experiment, where the mechanical-engineering shop constructed the flywheel demonstration setup.