Precession

Abstract

Abstract The earth’s mantle is subject to both free precession (the Chandler wobble) and forced precession (equinox precession), with the latter driving precessional motion in the fluid core of the earth. Following a brief introduction to rigid-body precession, both the Chandler wobble and equinox precession of the earth are discussed. The chapter concludes with Poincaré’s classical analysis of the precessional motion within the earth’s fluid core. The topic of fluid precession in planetary cores is a subtle one, but several suggestions for further reading are provided for the fearless reader intent on further study.