Precession/Examples/Spinning Top

Example of Precession

Consider the child's toy the spinning top $T$.

When $T$ is set in motion, it is often the case that the axis of $T$ is not vertical.

If that is the case, then the tip of the axis describes a circular path, which gives the motion of $T$ a "wobble".

This is caused by precession.

Sources

• 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): precession
• 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): precession