Motion of a Bored Sphere in a Spinning Spherical Cavity

Abstract

Theory and experiment are combined to develop a predictive model for the motion of a bored sphere within a spinning spherical cavity. The motion is gyroscopic in nature with the sphere eventually aligning its hole with the axis of spin of the cavity. Analytical expressions are derived for the applied moments on the sphere due to its motion relative to that of the cavity, and the resulting equations of motion are solved by numerical methods. An approximate closed-form solution is also obtained. Experiments are described in which the measured nutation of the sphere substantiates the analytical predictions.