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New mouse works in midair

I remember as a kid my fascination with the gyroscope. My dad bought me one of those little toy models that you’d wind up with a string. Pulling the string as hard as I could would spin the heavy little gyroscopic wheel inside its metal frame and the magic would begin.

One end had a recessed dimple in which you could insert a pencil point. I placed the gyroscope on the tip of a pencil and watched it balance perfectly. Even if I moved the pencil or changed the angle to an impossibly precarious one, the little gyroscope wouldn’t fall off. It would even sway in a rhythmic oscillation, but balanced it would remain.

On the other end was a small slot so that you could balance the gyroscope on a length of string. The little whirling device became the ultimate tightrope walker as it traveled back and forth between my hands.

Most of all, I remember how the gyroscope would resist any change when I held it. Twisting it in midair while spinning at full speed was difficult at best.

That resistance to change in midair is the underlying bit of physics that makes Gyration’s latest GO 2.4 GHz Cordless Optical Air Mouse (http://www.gyration.com) work.

By Craig Crossman

Knight Ridder Newspapers

Full Story: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002565429_btsoho17.html

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