Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge / 2018 / Paper 1 / Section C / C10 / a

For three distinct positive principal moments of inertia, the denominator of $p^2$ is positive. If $I_3$ is the largest moment, the two numerator factors have opposite signs, so $p^2<0$. If it is the smallest, they again have opposite signs. If $I_3$ is intermediate, the two factors have the same sign, so $p^2>0$. Thus the intermediate axis theorem givesFor the stable cases the body-frame wobble frequency isThe perturbation does not decay in the torque-free conservative model. For the intermediate moment, a generic small impulse excites the growing branch and eventually leaves the linear regime.