graveng

1.3 Motion of top

How does a top move in the gravitational field of the earth. A top turns on a pivot as per Fig.1.1

We would expect that the top does fall. By experiment, it does not fall under the action of gravity, but moves sidewise instead. Nobody knows it why. The movement of a top, which called precession, is well known but there is no answer yet why it happens. Why does a top have such motion? To understand this, let's consider about why a rotating ball curves.


1.4 Why does a rotating ball curve

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Updated 10/Oct/1996 redsky@graveng.jp