Editing Gimbal lock (section)

==Gimbals==
{{Main|Gimbal}}

A gimbal is a ring that is suspended so it can rotate about an axis. Gimbals are typically nested one within another to accommodate rotation about multiple axes.

They appear in [[gyroscope]]s and in [[inertial measurement unit]]s to allow the inner gimbal's orientation to remain fixed while the outer gimbal suspension assumes any orientation. In [[compass|compasses]] and [[flywheel energy storage]] mechanisms they allow objects to remain upright. They are used to orient [[Rocket engine|thrusters]] on rockets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/gimbal.htm|title=What is a gimbal -- and what does it have to do with NASA?|author=Jonathan Strickland|year=2008}}</ref>

Some [[coordinate system]]s in mathematics behave as if they were real gimbals used to measure the angles, notably [[Euler angles]].

For cases of three or fewer nested gimbals, gimbal lock inevitably occurs at some point in the system due to properties of [[covering space]]s.