Re: [Paddlewise] gyroscopes for kayaks

Michael Daly writes: 

> From: "David Anderson" <squtch_at_quiet-like-a-panther.org>
>> I wonder whether it would be better to solidly mount the gyros or if it 
>> would be better to do some sort of soft mount with rubber or possibly even 
>> small shock absorbers to allow the boat some movement while still affecting 
>> the stability. 
> 
> Dampened stabilization.  Interesting idea.  

Thanks. I came up with an even more warped idea to get rid of all the issues 
(other than weight, space, wrong side up, and center of rotation while 
turning;-) Mount your 3 gyros that in a box that is mounted to a vetical 
axle. If you dampen the axle you should have a fairly maneuverable boat 
(other than the 200 pound contraption behind your seat). You would have 
limited pitch and roll (say 10 degrees) but unlimited yaw. 

Ok, you can go ahead and shoot hole in my brilliant idea now. 

> Just between you and me, I don't think anyone could get a gyro-stabilized 
> kayak to work.  Without doing the numbers, I suspect that the weight of
> the gyro would be prohibitive compared to the benefit (if not the weight,
> then the spin velocity required).  

Not to mention the sympathetic vibrations thant might annoy the nearest 
devilfish into whacking you with his tail. 

> However, the experiment for a student is a valid one.  One thing that 
> bugs me about this from my science fair days is a bias, conscious or 
> otherwise, on the part of examiners to downplay the value of a negative 
> result.  That is, they seem to put more value on a result that shows 
> something works than one that shows something doesn't work, even though 
> scientifically these outcomes are equally valid.  

I would agree with you there. It's a great project with almost no commercial 
value. 

Unfortunately the mindset of the world tends that way. Because of this 
attitude great effort is put into trying to force failure into success, 
instead of using the failure to narrow the focus. I have tried to explain to 
some of my bosses that the reason they put a reverse gear in your car is so 
that if you turn into a blind alley you can back out instead of trying to 
bash your way through several brick walls. 

Of course the biggest physics science fair (nobel) only rewards the 
successes, so why shouldn't the local ones? 

> Given this, perhaps Robert and his daughter should focus on showing 
> the _effects_ of a gyro on a floating object (kayak or other) rather 
> than trying to show a benefit.  A subtle difference, but meaningful 
> in presentation.

An excellent idea! 

Dave
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