High-speed rotation provides many facilities which are unattainable by any other process. Very high linear velocities and also exceptionally high force fields can be obtained in the laboratory. The gyroscope can give a reference platform which is stable even within a violently unstable environment. The basic problems are outlined and some of the solutions are treated in detail. This review article deals mainly with angular velocities in the range 2000 rad s−lto 63 000 rad s−l.