Celt reversals: a prototype of chiral dynamics

Abstract

A physically transparent and mathematically streamlined derivation is presented for a third-order nonlinear dynamical system that describes the curious chiral reversals of a celt (rattleback). The system is integrable, and its solutions are periodic, showing an infinite succession of spin reversals. Inclusion of linear dissipation allows any given number of reversals, and a typical celt's observed behaviour is well captured by tuning the dissipation parameters.