I know...every time is see one in the movies I wonder about greasing the bearings. It’s a pain the replace them on a motorcycle. I cannot imagine doing that in zero g.
Not sure there are any bearings. I think the idea is to spin the whole thing. That’s how it was presented in 2001. Not sure how it was supposed to work in Babylon 5 ...
Magnetic levitation in some of the Sci fi.
Old time 2 inch VTR quad machines used air bearings to enable the headwheel to run fast enough.
I could still set up an AVR 2 or 6 Ampex.
Another useless skill.