An angular-velocity transducer with applications in the measurement and control of rotation
the late T.L. Briggs, J. D. Campbell, O.J. Tassicker · Journal of Physics E Scientific Instruments · 1971
A transducer of low mechanical and electrical inertia is described, whose voltage output is proportional to angular velocity. The device is without commutator and is not based on a modulation principle, so that it has a fast low-noise response. It operates through a rotation angle of up to 240 degrees, over which range a linearity of 1% or better is obtainable. There are no moving iron parts, so that the moment of inertia is effectively that of the drive shaft. The electrical time constant is about 50 ns when feeding into a resistance of 1 omega; the frequency response is thus in practice limited only by the mechanical characteristics of the device and its attachment to the object whose rotation is to be measured. A typical sensitivity, obtained by a fundamental method of calibration, is 30 mv for an angular velocity of 1 rad s -1 . Some applications of the instrument are discussed. Including its use for measuring angular displacement.