Transmissions

How does the exhibit work?

Place rubber bands around the green discs. You can also move the discs to another hole. Make sure the discs you want to use are connected to each other with rubber bands and to a figure at the end. You can turn the first disc. If it is connected to the last figure via wheels and belts, the last figure will also move.

At the cabinet next to it, you can also turn a wheel. This causes all kinds of parts to move in the cabinet.

What is the science behind it?

Can you make the mill or parasol turn simply by rotating the first wheel? Place the wheels one after the other and put belts around them. Make sure that the belts are tight. If necessary, move the wheels.

Using the belts you can transmit the rotating movement from wheel to wheel. We call this a belt transmission.

Be sure to try this too …

• … connect wheels of different sizes. Then you’ll notice that wheels of the same size rotate at the same speed. Are the wheels a different size? Then the small wheel turns faster than the big one.

• … cross a belt between two wheels. Is the belt between 2 wheels uncrossed, then the wheels turn in the same direction. When it’s crossed, the wheels turn in the opposite direction.

In the next cabinet you can see some other ways to transmit movement. For example, at the bottom there is a worm and worm drive. And what do you think of all those crazy cogs?

Transmission on your bike

You transmit the circular movement of your pedals to the rear wheel. You do that with a chain. The transmission that you use here is therefore called chaintransmission