The linked article has a problem with angular momentum conservation.
"Give me a lever long enough, and a place to stand, and I'll move the world" - Archimedes
The proposed plan lacks a place to stand. Unless angular momentum is given to an extra-terrestrial object, the angular momentum of the Earth+apparatus system cannot change. While Earth's rotation rate could be slowed by turning on such a gyroscope, if you ever brought the gyroscope back to rest, Earth would be right back where it started. As Earth's moment of inertia and angular velocity would be the same as when you began, so would Earth's kinetic energy. The most energy you can get back from the gyroscope is the energy you put in to spin it up.
It is the same as the sadness that is
http://xkcd.com/162/
Only the first turn's angular acceleration makes a difference in Earth's angular velocity/momentum. After that, it's just maintenance (which, in the case of the comic, still buys you time).
It is not dissimilar from trying to permanently stop a train from inside a boxcar. You can't; not without external help.
The tides slow Earth's rotation and generate heat, but the angular momentum exchange alters the lunar and solar orbits; the Sun and Moon are places to stand. Gravity is the lever.
If I'm in error, please let me know. I'd love to correct my understanding.
"Give me a lever long enough, and a place to stand, and I'll move the world" - Archimedes
The proposed plan lacks a place to stand. Unless angular momentum is given to an extra-terrestrial object, the angular momentum of the Earth+apparatus system cannot change. While Earth's rotation rate could be slowed by turning on such a gyroscope, if you ever brought the gyroscope back to rest, Earth would be right back where it started. As Earth's moment of inertia and angular velocity would be the same as when you began, so would Earth's kinetic energy. The most energy you can get back from the gyroscope is the energy you put in to spin it up.
It is the same as the sadness that is http://xkcd.com/162/ Only the first turn's angular acceleration makes a difference in Earth's angular velocity/momentum. After that, it's just maintenance (which, in the case of the comic, still buys you time).
It is not dissimilar from trying to permanently stop a train from inside a boxcar. You can't; not without external help.
The tides slow Earth's rotation and generate heat, but the angular momentum exchange alters the lunar and solar orbits; the Sun and Moon are places to stand. Gravity is the lever.
If I'm in error, please let me know. I'd love to correct my understanding.