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Thomas precession

What you are seeing: a gyroscope carried around a closed loop in SR returns rotated relative to its starting orientation. The vector at the gyroscope tip lags behind the orbital angle by (γ−1)(\gamma - 1) per revolution, the Thomas precession.

Figure 1. Orbit (cyan) and gyroscope axis (orange) accumulating Thomas precession.
β = v/c0.50

WHAT TO TRY

  • Vary each control and watch the rail readouts respond.
  • Compare the diagnostic plot against the live scene.