A sprocket, sprocket-wheel or chainwheel is a profiled wheel with teeth that mesh with a chain, rack or other perforated or indented material. The name 'sprocket' applies generally to any wheel upon which radial projections engage a chain passing over it. It is distinguished from a gear in that sprockets are never meshed together directly, and differs from a pulley in that sprockets have teeth and pulleys are smooth except for timing pulleys used with toothed belts.
Chain track drive sprocket (Leclerc battle tank, 2006)
Moving picture mechanism from 1914. The sprocket wheels a, b, and c engage and transport the film. a and b move with uniform velocity and c indexes each frame of the film into place for projection.
Roller chain or bush roller chain is the type of chain drive most commonly used for transmission of mechanical power on many kinds of domestic, industrial and agricultural machinery, including conveyors, wire- and tube-drawing machines, printing presses, cars, motorcycles, and bicycles. It consists of a series of short cylindrical rollers held together by side links. It is driven by a toothed wheel called a sprocket. It is a simple, reliable, and efficient means of power transmission.
The sketch of roller chain, Leonardo da Vinci, Codex Atlanticus
Two different sizes of roller chain, showing construction.
Sea Harrier FA.2 ZA195 front (cold) vector thrust nozzle - the nozzle is rotated by a chain drive from an air motor