Fascinating 3,000-year-old Chinese ingenuity
Do you know how a differential works? Would you believe that the Chinese invented one nearly three thousand years ago, and used it as a non-magnetic compass to keep track of north and south as they traveled?
Thanks to the gears and mathematical ratios incorporated into a differential mechanism, the figure on top of this amazing machine maintains its orientation no matter which way – or how fast – the chariot is pushed, pulled or turned. How it does this is via a clever application of gears and mathematical ratios that would have earned the awe and admiration of Pythagoras, Euclid and Aristotle themselves.
This museum-quality model is made from top quality engineered hardwood. Completed kit stands 11” h x 11” l x 6 1/2” w. A 1/10 scale reproduction of the South Pointing Chariot, the kit contains over 37 precision cut pieces, and once properly constructed, it really works!