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Ring laser gyroscopes rely on laser beams propagating in opposite directions along the same closed loop or "ring." The beams interfere with one another forming a stable pattern, but that pattern shifts in direct proportion to the rotation rate of the whole laser-ring system (called the "Sagnac effect"). Large ring laser gyroscopes are attached to the Earth's crust so that a shift in that pattern (seen as an observed beat note in an actively lasing device) is directly proportional to the rotation rate of the Earth. [Source: American Institute of Physics (AIP) Newsroom on Newswise]
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