= Gyrocompass
{wiki}
A <gyrocompass> uses a spinning <gyroscope> and <Earth's rotation> to identify geographical north. In an ideal model whose axle is constrained to the local horizontal plane but free to turn about the vertical, the northward direction of the spin <angular momentum> is stable away from the poles; the opposite spin direction is unstable. A real settling instrument also requires damping. This is different from merely preserving an initial inertial orientation with a freely mounted <gyroscope>.
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