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A lever amplifies an input force to provide a greater output force, which is said to provide leverage, which is mechanical advantage gained in the system, equal to the ratio of the output force to the input force. As such, the lever is a mechanical advantage device, trading off force against movement.
If the distance from the fulcrum to the input force is less than from the fulcrum to the output force, then the lever reduces the input force. To Archimedes, who recognized the profound implications and practicalities of the law of the lever, has been attributed the famous claim, "Give me a place to stand and with a lever I will move the whole ...
If <, the output force is less than the input, but the distance moved by the load is greater than the distance moved by the input force. In the screw, which uses rotational motion, the input force should be replaced by the torque, and the velocity by the angular velocity the shaft is turned.
If a is the distance from the pivot to the point where the input force is applied and b is the distance to the point where the output force is applied, then a/b is the mechanical advantage of the lever. The fulcrum of a lever is modeled as a hinged or revolute joint. Wheel: The wheel is an important early machine, such as the chariot.
If the input force F A is applied to the edge of the wheel A and the force F B at the edge of the axle B is the output, then the ratio of the velocities of points A and B is given by a/b, so the ratio of the output force to the input force, or mechanical advantage, is given by = =.
Compound levers can be constructed from first, second and/or third-order levers. In all types of compound lever, the rule is that force multiplied by the force arm equals the weight multiplied by the weight arm. The output from one lever becomes the input for the next lever in the system, and so the advantage is magnified.
The lever is operated by applying an input force F A at a point A located by the coordinate vector r A on the bar. The lever then exerts an output force F B at the point B located by r B. The rotation of the lever about the fulcrum P is defined by the rotation angle θ. This is an engraving from Mechanics Magazine published in London in 1824.
Mechanical linkages are usually designed to transform a given input force and movement into a desired output force and movement. The ratio of the output force to the input force is known as the mechanical advantage of the linkage, while the ratio of the input speed to the output speed is known as the speed ratio. The speed ratio and mechanical ...