Derek Muller, of the popular YouTube channel Veritasium, recently attempted to replicate an experiment done by Professor Eric Laithwaite, involving a heavy wheel.
Professor Laithwaite claimed that while he was not able to lift the wheel initially, the wheel was ‘light as a feather’ when spinning at a few thousand RPM.
In the video, Muller and another man are shown trying to hold the 42 lb. wheel out in front of them to no avail. However, once taking a drill and spinning the wheel at a few thousand RPM, Muller is able to literally lift and swing the wheel over his head!
How is this possible? The answer is Gyroscopic Precession. Watch the video below for an explanation:
