Differential (mechanical device): Difference between revisions

Milestones in the design or use of differentials include:

* 100 BCE–70 BCE: The [[Antikythera mechanism]] has been dated to this period. It was discovered in 1902 on a shipwreck by [[Sponge diving|sponge divers]], and modern research suggests that it used a differential gear to determine the angle between the ecliptic positions of the Sun and Moon, and thus the phase of the Moon.<ref name="Wright-Reconsidered">{{cite journal |last=Wright |first=M. T. |date=2007 |title=The Antikythera Mechanism Reconsidered |journal=Interdisciplinary Science Reviews |volume=32 |number=1 |pages=27–43 |doi=10.1179/030801807X163670 |bibcode=2007ISRv...32...27W |s2cid=54663891 |url=http://fsoso.free.fr/antikythera/DOCS/TheAntikytheraMechanismReconsidered.pdf |access-date=8 June 2023 }}</ref>{{clarify|Please provide a quote to support that this mechanism is a predecessor to the modern differential devices|date=February 2023}}

* 1810: [[Rudolph Ackermann]] of Germany invents a four-wheel steering system for carriages, which some later writers mistakenly report as a differential.

* 1823: [[Aza Arnold]] develops a differential drive train for use in [[Cotton-spinning machinery|cotton-spinning]]. The design quickly spreads across the United States and into the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mitman |first=Carl W. |date=1947 |editor-last=Johnson |editor-first=Allen |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofamer01ilamer |title=Dictionary of American Biography |chapter=Arnold, Aza |publisher=[[Charles Scribner's Sons]], [[American Council of Learned Societies]] |volume=1 |pages=361–362 |location=New York }}</ref>