precessing
Axis gradually shifting
Precessing describes the slow wobbling motion of a spinning object's axis, like a top that traces circles as it slows down.
The term appears most often in astronomy and physics: The Earth's axis is precessing, completing one wobble every 26,000 years.
Gyroscopes, planets, and atomic particles all exhibit precessing motion when external forces act on their spin.
Rotational motion quantity
- torqueRotational force measurement
- wobbleUnsteady side-to-side motion
- nutationOscillation in rotation axis
- gyroscopic stabilityBalance from angular momentum
moment of inertia · rigid body · tilt · pivot · spinning top · gimbal · gyrocompass · flywheel
Rotational axis deviation
- nutationOscillation in rotation axis
- eclipticSun's apparent annual path
- obliquityAngular deviation from perpendicular
- PolarisCelestial north marker
equinoxes · Milankovitch cycles · pole star · lunisolar · celestial equator · epoch · sidereal
Gradual loss of altitude
- satellite orbitsPaths spacecraft follow around bodies
- general relativityGravity as curved spacetime
Magnetic body imaging
- magnetic fieldForce zone around magnets
- electron spinQuantum angular momentum property
- gyromagnetic ratioMagnetism per unit spin
- quantum statesProbabilistic particle descriptions
angular momentum
Rotational motion quantity
- torqueRotational force measurement
- wobbleUnsteady side-to-side motion
- nutationOscillation in rotation axis
gyroscopic stability · moment of inertia · rigid body · tilt · pivot · spinning top · gimbal · gyrocompass · flywheel · Foucault pendulum
axial tilt
Rotational axis deviation
- nutationOscillation in rotation axis
- eclipticSun's apparent annual path
- obliquityAngular deviation from perpendicular
Polaris · equinoxes · Milankovitch cycles · pole star · lunisolar · celestial equator · epoch · sidereal
orbital decay
Gradual loss of altitude
- satellite orbitsPaths spacecraft follow around bodies
- general relativityGravity as curved spacetime
MRI
Magnetic body imaging
- magnetic fieldForce zone around magnets
- electron spinQuantum angular momentum property
- gyromagnetic ratioMagnetism per unit spin