Ring Laser Gyroscopes
Ring Laser Gyroscopes (RLGs) are a type of inertial sensor used primarily in aerospace engineering for navigation and control systems. They operate on the principle of the Sagnac effect, which states that a phase shift occurs when light waves travel in opposite directions around a closed loop, such as a ring. This phase shift can be measured and used to determine the rate of rotation. RLGs consist of a ring-shaped cavity filled with a gas that can be excited to emit coherent light, two mirrors to form a closed path for the light, and a detector to measure the interference pattern created by the counter-propagating beams. The advantage of RLGs over other types of gyroscopes is that they have no moving parts, which makes them more reliable and less prone to mechanical failure. They are used in a variety of aerospace applications, including aircraft and spacecraft navigation systems, missile guidance systems, and satellite attitude control systems.
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