A mixer: gears and beater speed
One motor spins two beaters through gears: they turn against each other twice as fast as the motor and whip the “dough” in the bowl.
Drag to orbit the scene, scroll to zoom. Press “Run”.
What the experiment shows
Gears carry rotation from the motor to two beaters. A ratio of 2 speeds the beaters up, and the extra gear reverses the direction: the beaters turn opposite ways and do not get in each other’s way.
How to run it
- Run the example and watch how the beaters turn.
- Compare the beater speed with the motor speed: how many times larger is it?
- Select a transmission in the layers and change the ratio — how does the whipping change?
Questions to discuss
- Why do a mixer’s beaters turn in opposite directions?
- What is gained and what is lost with gears that raise the speed?
The science
The gear ratio i = ω_beater / ω_motor = z₁/z₂. Here i = 2: the beater turns twice as fast as the motor. The power P = M·ω stays nearly the same, so the torque at the beater is half that at the motor: what is gained in speed is lost in force.
Try it at home
Look at a hand mixer or a drill with several speeds: gears are hidden inside. Turn the handle of a toy egg-whisk and compare the speed of the handle with that of the gear.
What to change in the editor
- Set the ratio to 3 — are the beaters faster?
- Add more “dough” balls.