Throwing a spinning card

[Leptyx]

Hi all,

 

I'm a little confused.

I thought that an object that has a spinning axis (a wheel, gyroscop, etc.) will have an angular momentum that tends to maintain the spinning axis.

 

Now, I've been throwing stuffs in my garden, like a playing card, or a pizza's cardboard support.

I give it some spin upon throwing away, and the spinning axis will rotate (this new rotation axis is parallel to the absolute motion trajectory) (and no it's not due to a blast of wind, silly).

 

It always turns the same way ; if the initial spin is clockwise (top-view), the axis rotation will be clockwise (back-view). There must be a way to explain it with dextro/levro-rotation vocabulary but i'm too tired to come up with the right thing.

 

Anyways, I don't get where does that new rotation comes from.

 

I suppose a frisbee is designed to avoid this rotation. Why not a flat cardboard ?

 

I've tried to consider other different parameters, such as the lightness of the object, or the Magnus effect, but I just don't see what this would have to do.

 

 

Please illuminate my knowledge ! Thanks,

Cheers

 

[swansont]

If there is an external torque along another axis the system can precess.