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That’s using your head
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EXPERIMENT
6
Despite the fact that the additional pieces
add weight, they do not have much of an
effect on the balancing or walking
behavior of the gyrobot. This is because
the gyroscopic forces are powerful
enough to counteract the extra forces
applied to the model by these additional
pieces, and the additional pieces do not
weigh very much relative to the entire
gyrobot. Even when the assembly is
asymmetrical, the gyrobot still remains
balanced.
W
hAt’s
ha
p
p
en
iNg
?
Here’s how
1. Starting with the
assembled gyrobot
model, attach the
rods and anchor
pins to the side of
its head as shown.
Make a hypothesis
about how these
added pieces will
affect the gyrobot.
2. If you disassembled
the tightrope frame,
reassemble it according to the instructions
starting on page 9. Turn on the gyrobot and
wait for it to reach its top speed. Balance the
gyrobot on the tightrope. Observe its
performance.
3. Remove one or both of the 9-hole rods and
repeat the experiment. What happens?
The shorter side of the pivot
anchor pin makes a tight
connection with the rod,
while the longer side is
relatively loose, which
makes it easy to remove the
rod during the experiment.
Summary of Contents for Tightrope-Walking Gyrobot
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