Fiber optic gyroscope

Okay kiddo, so imagine you're holding a spinning top in your hand. When you spin it, you can feel it moving and you can tell which way it's spinning.

Now think of a really tiny spinning top that's inside a wire that's as thin as a piece of hair. This is called a fiber optic gyroscope.

Instead of feeling the spinning like you did with the toy top, the fiber optic gyroscope uses light to detect which way it's spinning.

Imagine shining a flashlight beam into a dark room and seeing the light move around as you move the flashlight. That's kind of like what happens in a fiber optic gyroscope.

As the gyroscope spins, it creates a tiny amount of light that is sent down the wire. The light bounces back and forth inside the wire, but because the gyroscope is spinning, the light moves in a pattern that shows which way the gyroscope is turning.

The fiber optic gyroscope is used in things like aircraft and ships to help them stay on course and determine their position. It's a really important tool that helps keep us safe!