Gyroscopes

You guys are getting it a bit wrong about the gyroscope.  However, clarifying the way that a gyroscope works will reveal something that shoots a big hole in the FE theory that when you think you are traveling around the equator of the earth you are actually circling the North pole.  A gyroscope does not work on gravity or magnetism.  This means that celestial bodies, gravitation, magnetism, etc. have no effect whatsoever on the operation of a gyroscope.  A gyroscope uses the momentum of a spinning wheel to resist changes in angular position.  As you spin the heavy wheel in a gyroscope at a high speed, the wheel gains rotational momentum that is fairly large.  Because the momentum of the wheel is now relatively high, it would take a fairly powerful force to change the position of the wheel. In order to turn this into a navigational instrument the gyro is mounted in a swiveling cage and attached to a pointer or more commonly, a transducer.  When you start up a navigational gyro, you need to let it speed up, then you manually align the gyro to read your current magnetic heading.  Once the gyro is set, it is the gyro's resistance to changes in position that cause the cage and the whole plane to rotate around the gyro essentially.  You now have what is called a heading indicator.  Notice it's not called a compass, this is because it does not operate on magnetic fields and it is different than a compass.  This means that regardless of your position relative to any magnetic or gravitational center, the heading indicator will always be correct.  Now, here we are, the argument that when planes fly in circles around the earth and return at the same location they are actually just circling the north pole on a flat earth.  The FErs say that a compass will always point north and therefore lead you in a circle because of the changing relative position of the North pole.  Therefore the planes are just flying in circles.  In truth, any modern aircraft uses a directional gyro to navigate, this means that their gyro would not drift and they would continue to head in one direction and they would reach the edge if there were a flat earth.  We all know this does not happen, because people have made those flights.

The aircraft directional gyro is most certainly susceptible to drift.  They must be realigned at regular intervals during the flight.

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[/quote]Just a suggestion, but he might be playing a stoopid word game in a pointless attempt to waste everybody's time. I'm sure the possibility has occurred to you.

Hey! TheEngineer has solved all our energy problems, folks. That's right. He's found that the very air itself is a useful energy source. No need for moving it, like in harnessing the wind. No more need to have a pressure differential, like in harnessing compressed air or a vacuum. Not at all.

I don't see what's so impossible about harnessing energy from the atmosphere. The Atmos clock does it all the time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmos_clock
http://www.clockguy.com/SiteRelated/SiteReferencePages/AtmosLeCoultreHistory.html
http://www.atmosadam.com/

Quote

Hey! TheEngineer has solved all our energy problems, folks. That's right. He's found that the very air itself is a useful energy source. No need for moving it, like in harnessing the wind. No more need to have a pressure differential, like in harnessing compressed air or a vacuum. Not at all.

I don't see what's so impossible about harnessing energy from the atmosphere. The Atmos clock does it all the time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmos_clock
http://www.clockguy.com/SiteRelated/SiteReferencePages/AtmosLeCoultreHistory.html
http://www.atmosadam.com/

I bolded the salient bits for you Tom.

Quote from: Tom Bishop on October 09, 2007, 08:47:59 AM

Quote

Hey! TheEngineer has solved all our energy problems, folks. That's right. He's found that the very air itself is a useful energy source. No need for moving it, like in harnessing the wind. No more need to have a pressure differential, like in harnessing compressed air or a vacuum. Not at all.

I don't see what's so impossible about harnessing energy from the atmosphere. The Atmos clock does it all the time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmos_clock
http://www.clockguy.com/SiteRelated/SiteReferencePages/AtmosLeCoultreHistory.html
http://www.atmosadam.com/

I bolded the salient bits for you Tom.

You have to realize that Gulliver is like a 6-year old, in that you have to be very explicit with him.  I never claimed that stationary air is the power source for a gyroscope.  It's just his way of making himself feel all warm and fuzzy inside.