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Simple machines provide a "vocabulary" for understanding more complex machines. The idea that a machine can be decomposed into simple movable elements led Archimedes to define the lever, pulley and screw as simple machines. By the time of the Renaissance this list increased to include the wheel and axle, wedge and inclined plane.
The images above give an indication of the compositions and scale (dimensions) associated with MAs, though these just begin to touch on the complexity of the structures; in principle, each living cell is composed of MAs, but is itself an MA as well.
A complex system is a system composed of many components which may interact with each other. [1] Examples of complex systems are Earth's global climate, organisms, the human brain, infrastructure such as power grid, transportation or communication systems, complex software and electronic systems, social and economic organizations (like cities), an ecosystem, a living cell, and, ultimately, for ...
A machine consists of a power source, or engine, and a mechanism or transmission for the controlled use of this power. The combination of force and movement, known as power , is an important characteristic of a machine.
These machines and their nanoscale dynamics are far more complex than any molecular machines that have yet been artificially constructed. [81] Biological machines have potential applications in nanomedicine. [82] For example, they could be used to identify and destroy cancer cells.
A compound machine is a machine formed from a set of simple machines connected in series with the output force of one providing the input force to the next. For example, a bench vise consists of a lever (the vise's handle) in series with a screw, and a simple gear train consists of a number of gears ( wheels and axles ) connected in series.
Al-Jazari described complex programmable humanoid automata amongst other machines he designed and constructed in the Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices in 1206. [22] His automaton was a boat with four automatic musicians that floated on a lake to entertain guests at royal drinking parties. [23]
In the case of complex systems, information fluctuation complexity was designed so as not to measure randomness as complex and has been useful in many applications. More recently, a complexity metric was developed for images that can avoid measuring noise as complex by using the minimum description length principle. [19]