If the material is in the shape of spokes projecting from a point, then the spokes create a line along an axis. So a circuit had to be invented that would measure this information and made small enough to fit into a smartphone.Įlectronic engineers knew that when certain materials have electrical current passed through them, they'll vibrate. Orientation information for a smartphone uses a circuit that can tell where the smartphone is in the three dimensions. And smartphones can also use this type of information on their orientation. All pretty useful information for us to have handy. Our brains also use our eyesight to provide orientation information and combines these sensors to calculate if we are right-side up, lying down or standing at an angle. The inner ear has a fluid filled sensor that can detect orientation, so we can walk without falling. Our bodies have sensors that provide orientation information to our brains. The smartphone changes orientation from the flat surface to something different, depending on how you hold it in your hand. Think about when you lay your smartphone on a flat surface and then pick it up to hold it to your ear to make or answer a phone call. For example, if straight up and down is vertical, and tilt or wobble is off the vertical axis. If the three axes had pressure sensors, the sensors would detect when each axis was being moved out of alignment. These three dimensions make up what's called orientation, which can be measured. And the third dimension is any angle that the top takes on as it spins around. The flat surface the top is spinning on is the horizontal axis. This line is called an axis, and in this case, the vertical axis. Think of a line going through the center of the while it's spinning. Since the outward force of the spinning disk pulls equally in all directions, the top stays balanced. One force is gravity, which wants to pull the top down, and if the top starts to spin too slowly, gravity will become stronger than the force generated by the spin. The physics behind this is that the spinning motion generates an outward force that can counter other forces. When the top spins fast enough, it remains in an upright position and resists any attempt at falling over.
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