Asymptotic solution of the equations of motion for a celtic stone (Q798015)

The celtic stone is a top with nonsymmetric distribution of mass such that the stability of its rotation about the vertical depends on the direction of rotation. If the body is brought into an unstable rotation, then after a short time the rotation will vanish, the body will begin to oscillate about a horizontal axis, and then resume the rotation in the opposite direction. In this paper an attempt is made to give a theoretical explanation of the fact that transverse oscillations are transformed into rotation. The equations of motion are considered in the neighborhood of the position of the stable equilibrium, and they contain only the linear and quadratic terms, relative to initial perturbations. The method of averaging is used to integrate the resulting system. An application to a particular model of a celtic stone is given. The paper is well written.