Simple machine

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This article is about the concept in physics. For the Internet forum software, see Simple Machines Forum.

Table of simple mechanisms, from Chambers' Cyclopedia, 1728.[1] Simple machines provide a "vocabulary" for understanding more complex machines.

A simple machine is a non-motorized device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force.[2] In general, a simple machine can be defined as one of the simplest mechanisms that provide mechanical advantage (also called leverage).[3] Usually the term refers to the six classical simple machines which were defined by Renaissance scientists:[4] 1. Lever 2. Wheel and axle 3. Pulley 4. Inclined plane 5. Wedge 6. Screw A simple machine is an elementary device that has a specific movement (often called a mechanism), which can be combined with other devices and movements to form a machine. Thus simple machines are considered to be the "building blocks" of more complicated machines. This analytical view of machines as decomposable into simple machines first arose in the Renaissance as a neoclassical amplification of ancient Greektexts on technology,[5] and is still a central part of engineering in today's age of applied science. For example, wheels, levers, and pulleys are all used in the mechanism of a bicycle.[6][7] Between the simple machines and complex assemblies, several intermediate classes can be defined, which may be termed "compound machines"[8][3][9] or "machine elements".[10] The mechanical advantage of a compound machine is simply the product of the mechanical advantages of the simple machines of which it is composed. Various authors have compiled lists of simple machines and machine elements, sometimes lumping them together under a single term such as "simple machines",[1] "basic machines",[6] "compound machines",[8] or "machine elements"; the use of the term "simple machines" in this broadersense is a departure from the neoclassical sense of the six essential simple machines, which is why many authors prefer to avoid its use, preferring the other terms (such as "machine element"). In all cases, the theme of an analytical and synthetic connection from simple to compound to complex is at work. A page from a 1728 text by

Ephraim Chambers[1] (in the figure to the right) shows more machine elements. By the late 1800s, Franz Reuleaux[11] identified hundreds of machine elements (calling them "simple machines"). Models of these devices can be found atCornell University's KMODDL website.[12]

History
The idea of a "simple machine" originated with the Greek philosopher Archimedes around the 3rd century BC, who studied the "Archimedean" simple machines: lever, pulley, and screw.[3][13] He discovered the principle of mechanical advantage in the lever.[14] Later Greek philosophers defined the classic five simple machines (excluding the inclined plane) and were able to roughly calculate their mechanical advantage.[5] Heron of Alexandria (ca. 1075 AD) in his work Mechanics lists five mechanisms that can "set a load in motion"; lever, windlass, pulley, wedge, and screw,[13] and describes their fabrication and uses.[15] However the Greeks' understanding was limited to the statics of simple machines; the balance of forces, and did not include dynamics; the tradeoff between force and distance, 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 much useful work they could perform, leading eventually to the new concept of mechanical work. In 1586 Flemish engineer Simon Stevin derived the mechanical advantage of the inclined plane, and it was included with the other simple machines. The complete dynamic theory of simple machines was worked out by Italian scientist Galileo Galilei in 1600 in Le Meccaniche ("On Mechanics").[16][17] He was the first to understand that simple machines do not create energy, only transform it.[16] The classic rules of sliding friction in machines were discovered by Leonardo da Vinci (14521519), but remained unpublished in his notebooks. They were rediscovered by Guillaume Amontons(1699) and were further developed by Charles-Augustin de Coulomb (1785).[18]

A machine is a tool used to make work easier. Simple machines are simple tools used to make work easier. Compound machines have two or more simple machines working together to make work easier. In science, work is defined as a force acting on an object to move it across a distance. Pushing, pulling, and lifting are common forms of work. Furniture movers do work when they move boxes. Gardeners do work when they pull weeds. Children do work when they go up and down on a see-saw. Machines make their work easier. The furniture movers use a ramp to slide boxes into a truck. The gardeners use a hand shovel to help break through the weeds. The children use a see-saw to go up and down. The ramp, the shovel, and the seesaw are simple machines. Inclined Plane A plane is a flat surface. For example, a smooth board is a plane. Now, if the plane is lying flat on the ground, it isn't likely to help you do work. However, when that plane is inclined, or slanted, it can help you move objects across distances. And, that's work! A common inclined plane is a ramp. Lifting a heavy box onto a loading dock is much easier if you slide the box up a ramp--a simple machine. Want to know more? Here's extra information. Wedge Instead of using the smooth side of the inclined plane, you can also use the pointed edges to do other kinds of work. For example, you can use the edge to push things apart. Then, the

inclined plane is a wedge. So, a wedge is actually a kind of inclined plane. An axeblade is a wedge. Think of the edge of the blade. It's the edge of a smooth slanted surface. That's a wedge! Want to know more? Here's extra information. Screw Now, take an inclined plane and wrap it around a cylinder. Its sharp edge becomes another simple tool: the screw. Put a metal screw beside a ramp and it's kind of hard to see the similarities, but the screw is actually just another kind of inclined plane. Try this demonstration to help you visualize. How does the screw help you do work? Every turn of a metal screw helps you move a piece of metal through a wooden space. And, that's how we build things! Want to know more? Here's extra information Lever Try pulling a really stubborn weed out of the ground. You know, a deep, persistent weed that seems to have taken over your flowerbed. Using just your bare hands, it might be difficult or even painful. With a tool, like a hand shovel, however, you should win the battle. Any tool that pries something loose is a lever. A lever is an arm that "pivots" (or turns) against a "fulcrum" (or point). Think of the claw end of a hammer that you use to pry nails loose. It's a lever. It's a curved arm that rests against a point on a surface. As you rotate the curved arm, it pries the nail loose from the surface. And that's hard work! Wheel and Axle The rotation of the lever against a point pries objects loose. That rotation motion can also do other kinds of work. Another kind of lever, the wheel and axle, moves objects across distances. The wheel, the round end, turns the axle, the cylindrical post, causing movement. On a wagon, for example, the bucket rests on top of the axle. As the wheel rotates the axle, the wagon moves. Now, place your pet dog in the bucket, and you can easily move him around the yard. On a truck, for example, the cargo hold rests on top of several axles. As the wheels rotate the axles, the truck moves. Pulley Instead of an axle, the wheel could also rotate a rope or cord. This variation of the wheel and axle is the pulley. In a pulley, a cord wraps around a wheel. As the wheel rotates, the cord moves in either direction. Now, attach a hook to the cord, and you can use the wheel's rotation to raise and lower objects. On a flagpole, for example, a rope is attached to a pulley. On the rope, there are usually two hooks. The cord rotates around the pulley and lowers the hooks where you can attach the flag. Then, rotate the cord and the flag raises high on the pole. If two or more simple machines work together as one, they form a compound machine. Most of the machines we use today are compound machines, created by combining several simple machines. Can you think of creative ways to combine simple machines to make work easier? Think about it.