A Torsion Gyroscope: Drift Budget for an Inertial Reference Unit Using a Spin-Polarised Rotor
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper presents a complete design study of the device is a single-axis gyroscope whose rotor is spin-polarised, so that the torsion field of the rotor's own aligned spin population stiffens its response to disturbance torques that would otherwise appear as drift, derived from stated assumptions and computed throughout by the accompanying script. The rotor stores 3.208 kg m^2/s of angular momentum. The four-term drift budget combines to 0.0124 degrees per hour, giving an unaided heading error of 0.124 degrees after ten hours, with the bearing term still dominant and the torsion residual the smallest term in the budget. Every figure in the study is a computed result of the stated model and nothing was built or tested: the study is SIMULATED, NOT MEASURED, and its limits are stated as plainly as its performance.
Author: Aldred, William Alexander
Language: English
Subfield: Aerospace Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225833097