TITLE:
Mechanics of the Gyroscopic Precession and Calculation of the Galactic Mass
AUTHORS:
Jian Sun, Ting Xu, Zheng Jiao, Hui Wang
KEYWORDS:
Gyroscopic Precession, Solar System, Galactic Mass
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Modern Physics,
Vol.13 No.1,
January
20,
2022
ABSTRACT: A spinning gyroscope precesses about the vertical due to a torque acting upon the wheel. The torque is generated by the shift of moment of force by gravity and it points to the vertical instead of the tangential direction of precession. This intuition offers an alternative and straightforward view of precession dynamics in comparison with the literature. It also presumes a dynamic balance of momentum between circular motions of the wheel spin and precession. Accordingly, the gyroscopic dynamics is then applied to the study of galactic motion of the solar system in space and the Galactic mass is calculated with the inclusion of gyroscopic effect of the solar planets. Results indicate that the gyroscopic effect of Mercury orbiting around the Sun can increase the calculated Galactic mass by 23% in comparison with the result obtained by the classic approach.