NASA astronaut demonstrating the Dzhanibekov effect. An astronaut noticed this physical behavior of a handle, that turned out to be the proof of a theorem: the tennis racket theorem (also dubbed the Dzhanibekov effect)
The Tennis Racket Theorem states that an object with three unique moments of inertia, rotation about the axis of intermediate moment of inertia is unstable, while rotation about the other two axis is stable.
The effect is named after the Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov who discovered this phenomenon while in space in 1985.
NASA astronaut demonstrating the Dzhanibekov effect. An astronaut noticed this physical behavior of a handle, that turned out to be the proof of a theorem: the tennis racket theorem (also dubbed the Dzhanibekov effect)
The Tennis Racket Theorem states that an object with three unique moments of inertia, rotation about the axis of intermediate moment of inertia is unstable, while rotation about the other two axis is stable.
The effect is named after the Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov who discovered this phenomenon while in space in 1985.