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Why is it easier to obtain balance on a bike when it is in motion than when it is stationary? |
Why is it easier to obtain balance on a bike when it is in motion than when it is stationary? Bicycle wheels in motion have "gyroscopic inertia." The angular momentum of the wheels acts as though it was mass. You have to overcome the inertia of the angular momentum to tip the wheels over. If the wheels are not in motion, they have no angular momentum, and those no intertia due to angular momentum, and are easy to tip over. From Wikipedia: A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principle of conservation of angular momentum. In physics this is also known as gyroscopic inertia or rigidity in space. The essence of the device is a spinning wheel on an axle. The device, once spinning, tends to resist changes to its orientation due to the angular momentum of the wheel. Source(s): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/gyroscope... For the same reason that it's hard to tip a gyroscope when it's spinning. If you've never ridden a bicycle before, it's not at all easier where the faster you go the more likely you'll fall. Instead think about it this way: if you're at a dead stop, what inputs can you give to the bike to balance it? Compare that to the minute course corrections that can be made while moving. Your mind "knows" after some time how to keep you from falling, an amazing computer you've got up there. I've heard of "slow speed races" where the object is to crawl a motorcycle across several feet and take the longest time to get there without touching your foot down -- a serious test of balance. |
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