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Gyroscope Precession: Torque & the Precession Cone (2D)

2D canvas gyroscope lab: adjust spin rate, tilt angle, mass and gravity to watch the top-down precession cone and a side-view torque/angular-momentum schematic update live, with real-time Ω, ω, τ and period readouts.

Physics & Mechanics2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 3D version

This 2D companion drives the exact same steady-precession relation as the 3D version — Ω ≈ mgr/(Iω) — through a plain canvas view built for reading the physics rather than orbiting a scene: a top-down pane traces the cone the spin axis sweeps out as seen from directly above, so the "circle instead of a fall" behaviour of a torqued gyroscope is immediately visible, while a side pane shows the tilted axis itself carrying its angular-momentum vector, the gravity pull at the centre of mass, and the tangential torque arrow that keeps dragging that momentum sideways instead of letting the top topple.

⚙ Under the hood

2D gyroscope lab computing τ = mgr·sinθ and Ω ≈ mgr/(Iω) live from the spin, tilt, mass and gravity sliders, drawn as a top-down precession cone plus a side-view torque/angular-momentum schematic.

gyroscopeprecessiontorqueangular momentumrotational mechanicsphysics

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install