Happy Birthday, Jean Foucault
Born on this day in 1819, in France, Foucault invented the gyroscope and is known by name because of his pendulum.

Foucault's pendulum is like any other pendulum, which is a weight attached to a wire (or string), but it is attached at the top to a universal joint that allows the pendulum to rotate freely. However, the pendulum just keeps swinging in the same direction, once it's started off, unless some force acts on it--it just seems to be rotating because...
Because the Earth rotates beneath it, and the pendulum, with it's universal joint, isn't forced to rotate along with the Earth and everything on it.
A Foucault pendulum is usually very heavy and usually hangs on a very long wire—often from the ceiling of a tall building such as a museum or cathedral. What's cool about it is that it swings slowly and continues to swing for a long time; as the Earth rotates underneath the pendulum, it seems as if the Foucault pendulum is rotating.
In other words, a Foucault's pendulum proves that the Earth rotates (as if we needed proof other than the “rising” and “setting” of the sun, moon, planets, and stars!).
Play with gyroscopes and a pendulum today!
Or, at the very least, check out these videos:
Here is a great video that shows gyroscopes spinning and balancing and explains why they work and what they are used for.
And just for fun, here is a video of a “human gyroscope” or space ball ride.
Here is a video of a Foucault pendulum.
And this time-lapse video shows the rotation a thousand times more quickly than “real life”!
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