Sprocket
From Free net encyclopedia
- For the television comedy skit see Sprockets (television).
Image:Sprocket16.pngA sprocket is a gear or wheel with metal teeth that meshes with a chain or track. Sprockets are used in bicycles, motorcycles, cars, tanks and other machinery.
In the case of bicycle chains by varying the size (and therefore, the tooth count) of the sprockets on each side of the chain, you can modify the overall gear ratio of the chain drive. By providing two different-sized driving sprockets and five different-sized driven sprockets, a 10-speed bicycle uses this theory to allow up to ten different gear ratios. The resulting lower gear ratios make the bike easier to pedal up hills while the higher gear ratios make the bike faster to pedal on flat roads. In a similar way, manually changing the sprockets on a motorcycle can change the characteristics of acceleration and top speed by modifying the final drive gear ratio.
In the case of tanks the engine-driven toothed-wheel transmitting motion to the tracks is known as the drive sprocket and may be positioned at the front or back of the vehicle, or in some cases, both.
Sprockets are used in the film transport mechanisms of movie projectors and movie cameras. In this case, the sprocket wheels engage perforations in the film stock.
See also
Sprockets in Humor
The fictional character George Jetson works for the Spacely Sprocket Company, a company that presumably is involved in the production of space-age sprockets. What these sprockets drive is left to the imagination of the viewer.ja:スプロケット