On special forms of motion of the heavy symmetric top, particularly pseudoregular precession, and on the stability of motion

Abstract

In this chapter we wish to investigate more precisely some special motions of the top: regular precession, for example, and, in particular, the motion designated by us as pseudoregular precession. The great question of the stability of motion will stand in the foreground of our interest, a question that has often been considered in recent times, but which does not yet appear to have been formulated with the necessary sharpness and clarity.