Just a guess ,but I would say it is because of the shape they look like a spider from above them looking down. Body in the middle and legs going out in all directions.
Naa, if she is pretty, she is pretty. I HAVE seen a few that were something different that I THOUGHT were pretty. Come to thing about it, some one had a song about that. Ben
Waxing philosophical here. One word versus two, less letters, less ink..Patent rights..I seen some ugly spiders once or twice..
Maybe because of that gizmo they originally rode on in a banjo looked like a spider? hence spider gears?
That was my attempt at humor, Oj and Stew are right on. Just an academic exercise...a few old diferentials used worm gear and worm wheels instead of the spiral bevel ring and pinion and later common hypoid gearing. In later days now I believe most front wheel drive cars are able to use spiral bevels while the Torsen design uses the worm and worm wheel. Back to the future!
Whats the difference between a Issus and a Spider ? Maybe the wrong insect got the credit. Nature as 28dreyer stated puts us "Back to the future!"
Telescopes to microscopes. Without Galileo would there be such a name for gears as Planetary ? And what did Aristotle see that made him think “direction of rotation is reversed when one gear wheel drives another gear wheel”
The Jalopy Journal
