Rotascope

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Gyroscope \Gy"ro*scope\ (j[imac]"r[-o]*sk[=o]p), n. [Gr. gy^ros
     ring, circle + -scope.]
     1. A rotating wheel, mounted in a ring or rings, for
        illustrating the dynamics of rotating bodies, the
        composition of rotations, etc. It was devised by Professor
        W. R. Johnson, in 1832, by whom it was called the


        {rotascope}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A form of the above apparatus, invented by M. Foucault,
        mounted so delicately as to render visible the rotation of
        the earth, through the tendency of the rotating wheel to
        preserve a constant plane of rotation, independently of
        the earth's motion.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Rotascope \Ro"ta*scope\, n. [L. rota a wheel + -scope.]
     Same as {Gyroscope}, 1.
     [1913 Webster]