precession

thumb|Precession of a gyroscope thumb|

AI overview

Precession is the slow wobbling motion of a spinning object's axis, like how a spinning top gradually tilts as it slows down. It matters because this same effect causes Earth's rotational axis to wobble over thousands of years, which gradually shifts where we see the North Star and affects long-term climate patterns and astronomical calculations.

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Image: Gyroscope precession.gif

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Commons category: Precession

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Article

11 sections

Contents

Torque-free or torque neglected
Torque-induced
Classical (Newtonian)
Relativistic (Einsteinian)
Astronomy
Axial precession (precession of the equinoxes)
Apsidal precession
Nodal precession
See also
References
External links

thumb|Precession of a gyroscope thumb|

Precession is a change in the orientation of the rotationalaxis of a rotatingbody. In an appropriate referenceframe it can be defined as a change in the first Eulerangle, whereas the third Eulerangle defines the rotation itself. In other words, if the axis of rotation of a body is itself rotating about a second axis, that body is said to be precessing about the secondaxis. A motion in which the second Eulerangle changes is called nutation. In physics, there are two types of precession: and .