MODELING A CRYOGENIC HELIUM-3 NUCLEAR GYRO

Over the last two decades, several nonconventional gyro schemes have been proposed. Directed primarily at eliminating the bearing problems in conventional mechanical gyros, it was anticipated that either better performance could be achieved or performance comparable to conventional gyros could be achieved at a lower cost. No attempt is made here to compare or contrast all of these various schemes, but rather to look at certain aspects of a particular device, a cryogenic He('3) nuclear gyro, and to provide models for estimating its performance.; The nuclear gyro is highly dependent upon the stability and homogeneity of the magnetic field environment. A combination of low temperature physics technologies makes such a device practical. By generating the applied field with superconducting coils the stability of this field is guaranteed by the inherent stability of the persistent supercurrents in these coils. Then protection from a changing external environment is provided by enclosing the device within a superconducting shield.; Nevertheless, even in an ideal magnetic field environment, the nuclear gyro is subject to various rectification mechanisms. Of particular interest is the role kinematic rectification plays in this device. Rectification mechanisms are discussed, and mathematical models derived for calculating the methods of kinematic rectification drift. An experiment designed to measure and distinguish the kinematic rectification effects are discussed.; The effects of thermal gradients and accelerations in the presence of an inhomogeneous magnetic field are also discussed, and models derived from which their magnitudes are calculated.