RING-LASER GYROSCOPE

RING-LASER GYROSCOPE: HISTORY, DEVELOPMENT, APPLICATIONS, AND FUTURE

This research examines ring-laser gyroscopes and their applications. The findings of this research are presented in discussions of (1) the history and development of the ring-laser gyroscope, (2) applications of ring-laser gyroscope technology, and (3) the future of the ring-laser gyroscope.

The ring-laser gyroscope is based on the following characteristics of light: "When two contrarotating beams of light are subject to an angular rotation in their planes, that motion causes one of the beams to transit a slightly greater path length than the other. This creates a shift in the relative phase of the two beams that is proportional to the rotation rate." This effect was discovered in 1913. Honeywell Corp. developed a practical application of the concept in the form of a ring-laser gyroscope in the early-1960s.

The ring-laser gyroscope was introduced into real-world applications in the mid-1960s as an alternative technology to the spinning-mass gyroscope. Because the accuracy of the effect upon which the ring-laser gyroscope is based "is proportional to the length of the optical path, achieving more accurate laser gyros generally requires going to larger sizes."

The ring-laser gyroscope is used in inertial reference systems (IRSs), inertial reference units (IRUs) and global positioning systems (GPSs). In turn, data processed by integrated GPS/IR

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Category: Science - R