Stationary Precession of a Spinning Top (Revised)

height of center of mass

z

G

0.25

initial nutation angle

θ

0

30

mass m

0.1

moments of inertia

transversal I

1

longitudinal J

2

initial spin

1

initial nutation velocity

0.2

time to watch motion

50

animation rate

0.5

show path

start/stop/reset

This Demonstration modifies an earlier contribution to the Wolfram Demonstration Project on a spinning top, where you can see the mathematics. Click "show path" to see the top's coordinate system, as well as the path traced out by the

z

axis. At the default settings, this path is a swirling line showing both precession and nutation. By setting "initial nutation velocity" to zero, the path will show only precession.