In the book "Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania," the author Erik Larson describes a gyroscope's role in ensuring that torpedoes maintain their intended path, compensating for any vertical or horizontal shifts. This technology plays a crucial part in the torpedo's accuracy, allowing it to navigate effectively through the water.

Larson also illustrates the visual impact of a torpedo’s passage, leaving behind a distinct trace on the water's surface, which maritime terminology refers to as a "dead wake." This fading mark serves as a reminder of the disturbance caused by both ships and torpedoes, encapsulating the significance of movement and its fleeting nature in the ocean's vastness.