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  • Describe different simple machines.
  • Calculate the mechanical advantage.

Simple machines are devices that can be used to multiply or augment a force that we apply – often at the expense of a distance through which we apply the force. The word for “machine” comes from the Greek word meaning “to help make things easier.” Levers, gears, pulleys, wedges, and screws are some examples of machines. Energy is still conserved for these devices because a machine cannot do more work than the energy put into it. However, machines can reduce the input force that is needed to perform the job. The ratio of output to input force magnitudes for any simple machine is called its mechanical advantage    (MA).

MA = F o F i size 12{"MA"= { {F rSub { size 8{o} } } over {F rSub { size 8{i} } } } } {}

One of the simplest machines is the lever, which is a rigid bar pivoted at a fixed place called the fulcrum. Torques are involved in levers, since there is rotation about a pivot point. Distances from the physical pivot of the lever are crucial, and we can obtain a useful expression for the MA in terms of these distances.

There is a nail in a wooden plank. A nail puller is being used to pull the nail out of the plank. A hand is applying force F sub I downward on the handle of the nail puller. The top of the nail exerts a force F sub N downward on the puller. At the point where the nail puller touches the plank, the reaction of the surface force N is applied. At the top of the figure, a free body diagram is shown.
A nail puller is a lever with a large mechanical advantage. The external forces on the nail puller are represented by solid arrows. The force that the nail puller applies to the nail ( F o size 12{F rSub { size 8{o} } } {} ) is not a force on the nail puller. The reaction force the nail exerts back on the puller ( F n size 12{F rSub { size 8{n} } } {} ) is an external force and is equal and opposite to F o size 12{F rSub { size 8{o} } } {} . The perpendicular lever arms of the input and output forces are l i size 12{l rSub { size 8{i} } } {} and l 0 size 12{l rSub { size 8{0} } } {} .

[link] shows a lever type that is used as a nail puller. Crowbars, seesaws, and other such levers are all analogous to this one. F i is the input force and F o size 12{F rSub { size 8{o} } } {} is the output force. There are three vertical forces acting on the nail puller (the system of interest) – these are F i , F o , and N size 12{`N} {} . F n size 12{F rSub { size 8{n} } } {} is the reaction force back on the system, equal and opposite to F o size 12{F rSub { size 8{o} } } {} . (Note that F o size 12{F rSub { size 8{o} } } {} is not a force on the system.) N size 12{`N} {} is the normal force upon the lever, and its torque is zero since it is exerted at the pivot. The torques due to F i size 12{F rSub { size 8{i} } } {} and F n size 12{F rSub { size 8{n} } } {} must be equal to each other if the nail is not moving, to satisfy the second condition for equilibrium net τ = 0 size 12{ left ("net"`τ=0 right )} {} . (In order for the nail to actually move, the torque due to F i size 12{F rSub { size 8{n} } } {} must be ever-so-slightly greater than torque due to F n size 12{F rSub { size 8{n} } } {} .) Hence,

l i F i = l o F o size 12{l rSub { size 8{i} } F rSub { size 8{i} } = l rSub { size 8{o} } F rSub { size 8{o} } } {}

where l i size 12{l rSub { size 8{i} } } {} and l o size 12{l rSub { size 8{o} } } {} are the distances from where the input and output forces are applied to the pivot, as shown in the figure. Rearranging the last equation gives

F o F i = l i l o . size 12{ { {F rSub { size 8{o} } } over {F rSub { size 8{i} } } } = { {l rSub { size 8{i} } } over {l rSub { size 8{o} } } } } {}

What interests us most here is that the magnitude of the force exerted by the nail puller, F o size 12{F rSub { size 8{o} } } {} , is much greater than the magnitude of the input force applied to the puller at the other end, F i size 12{F rSub { size 8{i} } } {} . For the nail puller,

MA = F o F i = l i l o . size 12{"MA"= { {F rSub { size 8{o} } } over {F rSub { size 8{i} } } } = { {l rSub { size 8{i} } } over {l rSub { size 8{o} } } } } {}

This equation is true for levers in general. For the nail puller, the MA is certainly greater than one. The longer the handle on the nail puller, the greater the force you can exert with it.

Two other types of levers that differ slightly from the nail puller are a wheelbarrow and a shovel, shown in [link] . All these lever types are similar in that only three forces are involved – the input force, the output force, and the force on the pivot – and thus their MAs are given by MA = F o F i size 12{"MA"= { {F rSub { size 8{o} } } over {F rSub { size 8{i} } } } } {} and MA = d 1 d 2 size 12{"MA"= { {d rSub { size 8{1} } } over {d rSub { size 8{2} } } } } {} , with distances being measured relative to the physical pivot. The wheelbarrow and shovel differ from the nail puller because both the input and output forces are on the same side of the pivot.

Practice Key Terms 1

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Source:  OpenStax, Une: physics for the health professions. OpenStax CNX. Aug 20, 2014 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11697/1.1
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