gyrocompass
Speech parts
1. gyrocompass - Noun
2. gyrocompass - Verb
Meaning
a compass that does not depend on magnetism but uses a gyroscope instead
Source: WordNetSynonyms
Hypernyms
Examples
In this case we find : The axis of symmetry of the gyrocompass is now along the -axis.
History The first, not yet practical, citation form of gyrocompass was patented in 1885 by Marinus Gerardus van den Bos.
Meanwhile, in 1913, C. Plath (a Hamburg, Germany-based manufacturer of navigational equipment including sextants and magnetic compasses) developed the first gyrocompass to be installed on a commercial vessel.
The crucial additional ingredient needed to turn a gyroscope into a gyrocompass, so it would automatically position to true north, is some mechanism that results in an application of torque whenever the compass's axis is not pointing north.
On most modern ships the GPS or other navigational aids feed data to the gyrocompass allowing a small computer to apply a correction.
The 1889 Dumoulin-Krebs gyroscope Before the success of the gyrocompass, several attempts had been made in Europe to use a gyroscope instead.