Differential Gear Mechanism

The automotive differential allows wheels to rotate at different speeds during cornering while maintaining torque balance.

Drive: 1.0 rev/s Left wheel: 1.0 rev/s Right wheel: 1.0 rev/s Spider: 0.0 rev/s
Fundamental differential equation: ω_drive = (ω_left + ω_right) / 2. The spider gears (planet gears) allow the difference (ω_right − ω_left) to be nonzero while the ring gear enforces the sum. When one wheel is locked, all drive goes to the other wheel — the open differential's weakness.