Saturday Morning Science Experiment: Gyroscopes in space

By at 7:55 am Saturday, Apr 3

When we last met NASA science officer Don Pettit, he was demonstrating the behavior of water bubbles in microgravity. Today, Pettit shows us how astronauts can use CD players to MacGyver a gyroscopically stabilized platform for holding flashlights and other tools.

It's awesome, and it's part of a series of Saturday morning science videos that Pettit did for NASA in 2003. You can watch more of them online, and read his text-based Space Chronicles newsletter from around the same time period. Good luck getting anything accomplished today.

For more on gyroscopes:

  • How Stuff Works: "Gyroscopes can be very perplexing objects because they move in peculiar ways and even seem to defy gravity."
  • Kenyon College: The history of gyroscopes, with examples dating to the 1850s
  • Georgia State University's Hyperphysics site: Gyroscopes explained, in a more visual way

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    Maggie Koerth-Baker

    I do the Twitter, the Google+, and (to a much lesser extent) the Facebook.

    Books
    • Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before It Conquers Us, my book about the future of energy in the United States, will be published April 10th.

    Upcoming Appearances
    • April 2 at Skeptics in the Pub, Boston, Mass.— 7:00 pm at Tommy Doyle's in Harvard Square. Please RSVP.
    •April 4 at MIT: "Shedding Light, Online", a discussion about how blogging and a dynamic audience helped shape my book, Before the Lights Go Out—4:00 pm in Maseeh Hall. Please RSVP.
    • April 6 at Carnegie Mellon University: More details to come
    • April 9-13 at University of Colorado, Boulder: 64th Annual Conference on World Affairs
    • April 10 at Colorado State University, Fort Collins: "Putting the Fun Back in Infrastructure"—3:30 pm in the Rocky Mountain Innosphere.
    • April 19 at The Bakken Museum in Minneapolis: Book Launch Party! Come enjoy snacks, a presentation by me, and some fun with the Bakken's Leyden jar.
    • April 21 at Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul: Earth Day Tweetup event with Will Steger and Sean Otto—events run 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
    • May 2 at University of California, Berkeley: "Putting the Fun Back in Infrastructure"—6:00 pm, location TBA.
    • May 3 at the American Institute of Architects, San Francisco Chapter—Lunchtime lecture, time and location TBA.
    • May 3 at Barnes and Noble, El Cerrito, Cali.—7:00 pm.
    • May 30 in New York City—Panel on local and DIY energy with the New America Foundation
    • June 22-25 in Aspen, Colorado: Aspen Environment Forum
    • July 5-8 at CONvergence in Minneapolis, Minn.—exact times and dates TBA

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