What Are You Made Of?

If you have ever sat down for Sunday dinner in an authentic Italian-American home, you know not to question the red sauce known as “Grandma’s Gravy.” This tomato-based elixir coating your pasta is a gift from heaven itself. But the ketchup served with your French fries at the local fast food drive-thru is also a “sauce” made from tomatoes. Therefore, they must be interchangeable, right? Absolute sacrilege! However, this same type of comparison occurs all too frequently with gear materials; there are certain materials that are universally suitable for gearing, but others that are only appropriate for specific applications.