From an early age, that two systems, among others, caused me perplexity for not understanding at all how it works. The first was the microwave. Heat food without fire? — oh mother, what is this witchcraft?! — and the second was the functioning of the car differential.
I am sure that this problem was also for you, as it was for me, a central issue of your childhood. Between a game of Mega-Drive and the construction of some Legos, there came to mind the questions related to such a strange device, right? I would even say that these are perfectly normal questions for a six-year-old kid. Even because having discovered the secret of the origin of babies — which, as you know, arise through a complex logistical network formed by Storks — it was time to move to the next level. A level of tremendous complexity, which I was only able to overcome at the age of 20.
The answer, found
The answer came in the form of a video on Youtube and since then my life has never been the same. I was finally able to abandon the thesis that both the microwave and the car differential had been — given their complexity — technology donated by extraterrestrials to humanity somewhere during the beginning of the century. XIX.
Trauma aside, the system is complex but tremendously simple. Assuming that the ends of the drive shaft rotate at different speeds when cornering, a system is needed that dissipates this differential and applies traction to the one who travels the farthest, and which on the other hand releases the one who does not need to travel a distance. so big of engine traction . The principle that applies here is that the farther you are from the center of rotation, the greater speed you have to rotate to travel around the entire circumference.
I could spend hours and hours writing but I could never be as explicit as this video, already seven decades old, but still current. If you like, move on to 00:02:00, when the explanation begins, or to 00:03:00, which is when a practical example is given. It is not necessary to slash English to understand, you will see that it is very simple:
Simple isn't it? Call your children now and get them out of the agony of not knowing how a differential works, and let's complicate things a little more. See how an auto-locking differential (LSD) works in the next video:
I hope this Autopédia article has been useful to you and that it helps you to be better parents, or perhaps to overcome some childhood concerns. May the nightmares not accompany you!
As for the microwave, my friends, I maintain the same thesis: The truth is out there…