Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A simple machine is a mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. [1] In general, they can be defined as the simplest mechanisms that use mechanical advantage (also called leverage) to multiply force. [2] Usually the term refers to the six classical simple machines that were defined by Renaissance scientists: [3][4][5 ...
A lever is a simple machine consisting of a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or fulcrum. A lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on itself. On the basis of the locations of fulcrum, load and effort, the lever is divided into three types.
A machine used in schools to demonstrate the action of a screw, from 1912. It consists of a threaded shaft through a threaded hole in a stationary mount. When the crank on the right is turned, the shaft moves horizontally through the hole. The screw is a mechanism that converts rotational motion to linear motion, and a torque (rotational force ...
Demonstration inclined plane used in education, Museo Galileo, Florence. An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. [1][2][3] The inclined plane is one of the six classical simple machines ...
The wheel and axle is a simple machine consisting of a wheel attached to a smaller axle so that these two parts rotate together in which a force is transferred from one to the other. The wheel and axle can be viewed as a version of the Lever, with a drive force applied tangentially to the perimeter of the wheel, and a load force applied to the ...
Wedge. A wedge is a triangular shaped tool, a portable inclined plane, and one of the six simple machines. It can be used to separate two objects or portions of an object, lift up an object, or hold an object in place. It functions by converting a force applied to its blunt end into forces perpendicular (normal) to its inclined surfaces.
Machine, or Engine, in Mechanicks, is whatsoever hath Force sufficient either to raise or stop the Motion of a Body. Simple Machines are commonly reckoned to be Six in Number, viz. the Ballance, Leaver, Pulley, Wheel, Wedge, and Screw. Compound Machines, or Engines, are innumerable.
The ancient Greek understanding of physics was limited to the statics of simple machines (the balance of forces), and did not include dynamics or the concept of work. During the Renaissance the dynamics of the Mechanical Powers, as the simple machines were called, began to be studied from the standpoint of how far they could lift a load, in addition to the force they could apply, leading ...