I honestly don’t get this. I see these absurd gear reduction videos, 25k:1, Googol:1, etc. The first gear is easy to turn but the last barely turns due to gear reduction. They always show themselves trying to turn the last gear by hand and it doesn’t turn easilly. Why is that the case? why can’t the last gear become the first if you turn it first?
In: Engineering
The system is not reversible like you implied, because bigger gears are turning the smaller gears (which is what makes them spin so fast). The smaller gear is on an axle with another big gear (which keeps them rotating the same speed) and that gear turns another small gear etc.
Basically, when you turn a gear, there are two factors torque and RPM (or speed).
Torque x RPM = Force of the gear.
If you want to increase the RPM, you have to lower the torque. This is why the last gear turns super quickly (but because of the low torque can be stopped or started really easily). The first gear has the inverse effect, where it spins really slowly, but is super hard to start or stop.
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