History of the Gyroscope
(1819-1868), a 19th-century French scientist and physicist, is responsible
for giving the name gyroscope to a wheel or rotor mounted in gimbal rings
-- i.e. a set of rings that permit it to turn freely in any direction. Leon Foucault named his gyroscope in 1852.
The gyroscope was used by Foucault as a tool to study the earth's rotation.
A year earlier (1851) Leon Foucault invented
the Foucault pendulum which he used to measure the Earth's rotation. Among
his other achievements: in 1850, Foucault proved that light traveled more
slowly in water than in air; and in 1858 Foucault made an improvement to
the mirrors used in reflecting telescopes.
"How Gyroscopes Work"
- Sperry Gyroscope
Compass: History of Sperry Marine
Biographies on inventor Elmer Sperry
and the history of gyroscope compasses.
Sperry - Sperry Gyroscope
Elmer Sperry invented the gyroscopic
compass or Sperry Gyroscope.
Elmer Sperry invented gyroscope
guided automatic pilots for ships, airplanes, and spacecraft.
Charles Draper invented a gyroscope
that stabilized and balanced gunsights, bombsights and for launching long-range
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