Why lever works




















But the total work and total energy expended for a given job is always they same, no matter what machine you use. Topics: conservation of energy , distance , energy , force , free energy , lever , overunity , simple machines , work.

Levers maximize force by minimizing distance, but the energy inputted is the same. In this image, the length of the arrow represents the distance over which the force is applied and the width of the arrow represents the magnitude of the force. The energy inputted, which is force times distance, remains constant.

Levers increase the force by decreasing the distance. Acid Rain. Climate Change. Climate Feedback. Ocean Acidification. Rising Sea Level. Another force F2 at distance d2 from the fulcrum acts downwards on the lever. This balances the effects of F1 and the lever is stationary, i. And when the lever is balanced, i.

Imagine if F1 is the active force and is known. F2 is unknown but must push down on the lever to balance it. So F2 must have this value to balance the force F1 acting down on the right hand side. Since the lever is balanced, we can think of there being an equivalent force equal to F2 and due to F1 , shown in orange in the diagram below, pushing upwards on the left side of the lever.

This is intuitively correct since we know how a long crowbar can create a lot of force for lifting or prying things, or if you put your fingers between the jaws of a pliers and squeeze, you know all about it! This force magnifying effect or mechanical advantage of a lever is one of the features that makes it so useful. When the lever is balanced, the force F1 produces an equivalent force of magnitude F2 shown in orange.

This balances F2 shown in blue acting downwards. Many of the bones in your body act as third class levers. For instance in your arm, the elbow is the pivot, the biceps muscle creates the effort acting on the forearm and the load is held by a hand.

The small bones in the ear also form a lever system. These bones are the hammer, anvil and stirrup and act as levers to magnify sound coming from the eardrum. The bones in our arms and other part of the body are third class levers. We can summarise the above reasoning into a simple equation known as the law of the lever :. A counterbalance is a weight added to one end of a lever or other pivoting structure so that it becomes balanced the turning moments clockwise and anti-clockwise are equalised.

The weight of the counterbalance and its position relative to the pivot are set so that the lever can stay at any angle without turning.

The advantage of a counterbalance is that a lever only has to be displaced and doesn't have to be physically lifted. So for instance a heavy road barrier could be raised by a human if it moves freely on its pivot. If there was no counterbalance, they would have to push down a lot harder on the barrier to lift the other end.

Counterbalances are also used on tower cranes to balance the boom so that the crane doesn't topple over. Swing bridges use counterbalances to balance the weight of the swing section. Sometimes the counterbalancing force is provided by a spring instead of a weight.

For instance springs are sometimes used on the deck of a lawn mower so a person doesn't have to lift the deck when adjusting the height. Also springs might be used on the lid of a home appliance such as a chest freezer to stop the lid falling down when raised.

A counterbalance used to balance a lever. These are often seen on road barriers where one end of the lever is much shorter than the other end. A tower crane. It is impossible to say who invented the first mechanical lever. Human beings have used mechanical levers since the stone age. The earliest remaining writings regarding levers date from the 3rd century BC and were provided by Archimedes.

In ancient Egypt , builders used the lever to move and uplift obelisks weighing more than tons. A shadoof is type of lever that was used in Egypt. It is a pole with a weight on one end. It is used to lift water from a well or river for irrigation. It was in common use by BC. It is still used in many areas of Africa and Asia to draw water. A lever enables people to do work using less force.

A lever usually is used to move or lift objects. Sometimes it is used to push against objects, but not actually move them. Levers can be used to exert a large force over a small distance at one end by exerting only a small force over a greater distance at the other. Its power comes from outside forces acting on it. In order to use the lever successfully and achieve its mechanical advantage, you must exert force into this simple machine.

The force applied to one end of the lever is transferred to the other end on the lever. The real power of levers comes from a mechanical advantage.



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