Variable Transmission on cars
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Assuming you’re talking about CVTs and already understand the mechanical advantage that gears can provide:
There are 2 sets of “plates” on each side of a belt, but the plates are slightly conical (like a very wide, short party hat). If you pinch the plates closer together, it forces the belt out to a bigger diameter which acts like a “big gear”. If you don’t pinch the plates as much, the belt slides between the plates even deeper at a smaller diameter which acts like a “small gear”.
Using this, you can have a “continuously variable” range of gearing simply by squeezing less or more on the belt.
To visualize more, think of two party hats with the tips facing towards each other and a rod connecting them. If you take a big enough piece of paper and wrap it around the big ends of the cones, this is again representing your “big gear”. By moving the party hats away from each other, eventually the paper will be able to wrap around just the stick connecting them which is the “small gear”.
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