What is a Gear Tooth?
A gear tooth is a protrusion on a gear which is designed to mesh with compatible teeth on another gear or rack. Many people are familiar with the concept of gear teeth, even if they don’t know the proper name for this part of a gear, because the teeth are what give gears their distinctive look. There are a variety of different styles of gear and gear teeth which can be used in various applications, but all of them are used to transfer force in order to perform mechanical work. As one gear is turned, its teeth intermesh with those of a partner gear, with each gear tooth meeting a corresponding gap between teeth on the other gear. This causes the other gear to turn, transferring the force used to turn the first gear to the second gear. The advantage to the design is that it creates a mechanical advantage which can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the ratio of the partner gears, making for greater efficiency. The teeth or “cogs” on a gear can be adjusted in a number of ways. The si
