Mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force
This article is about the concept in physics. For independent record label, see Simple Machines. For the Internet forum software, see Simple Machines Forum. For broader coverage of this topic, see Mechanism (engineering).
The six classical simple machines
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]
Lever
Wheel and axle
Pulley
Inclined plane
Wedge
Screw
A simple machine uses a single applied force to do work against a single load force. Ignoring friction losses, the work done on the load is equal to the work done by the applied force. The machine can increase the amount of the output force, at the cost of a proportional decrease in the distance moved by the load. The ratio of the output to the applied force is called the mechanical advantage.
Simple machines can be regarded as the elementary "building blocks" of which all more complicated machines (sometimes called "compound machines"[6][7]) are composed.[2][8] For example, wheels, levers, and pulleys are all used in the mechanism of a bicycle.[9][10] The mechanical advantage of a compound machine is just the product of the mechanical advantages of the simple machines of which it is composed.
Although they continue to be of great importance in mechanics and applied science, modern mechanics has moved beyond the view of the simple machines as the ultimate building blocks of which all machines are composed, which arose in the Renaissance as a neoclassical amplification of ancient Greek texts. The great variety and sophistication of modern machine linkages, which arose during the Industrial Revolution, is inadequately described by these six simple categories. Various post-Renaissance authors have compiled expanded lists of "simple machines", often using terms like basic machines,[9]compound machines,[6] or machine elements to distinguish them from the classical simple machines above. By the late 1800s, Franz Reuleaux[11] had identified hundreds of machine elements, calling them simple machines.[12] Modern machine theory analyzes machines as kinematic chains composed of elementary linkages called kinematic pairs.
^Paul, Akshoy; Roy, Pijush; Mukherjee, Sanchayan (2005), Mechanical sciences: engineering mechanics and strength of materials, Prentice Hall of India, p. 215, ISBN 978-81-203-2611-8.
^ abAsimov, Isaac (1988), Understanding Physics, New York: Barnes & Noble, p. 88, ISBN 978-0-88029-251-1.
^Anderson, William Ballantyne (1914). Physics for Technical Students: Mechanics and Heat. New York: McGraw Hill. p. 112. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
^"Mechanics". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3. John Donaldson. 1773. p. 44. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
^Morris, Christopher G. (1992). Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology. Gulf Professional Publishing. p. 1993. ISBN 978-0122004001.
^ abCompound machines, University of Virginia Physics Department, retrieved June 11, 2010.
^Usher, Abbott Payson (1988). A History of Mechanical Inventions. US: Courier Dover Publications. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-486-25593-4.
^Wallenstein, Andrew (June 2002). "Foundations of cognitive support: Toward abstract patterns of usefulness". Proceedings of the 9th Annual Workshop on the Design, Specification, and Verification of Interactive Systems. Springer. p. 136. ISBN 978-3540002666. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
^ abPrater, Edward L. (1994), Basic machines(PDF), U.S. Navy Naval Education and Training Professional Development and Technology Center, NAVEDTRA 14037.
^U.S. Navy Bureau of Naval Personnel (1971), Basic machines and how they work(PDF), Dover Publications.
^Reuleaux, F. (1963) [1876], The kinematics of machinery (translated and annotated by A.B.W. Kennedy), New York: reprinted by Dover.
^Cornell University, Reuleaux Collection of Mechanisms and Machines at Cornell University, Cornell University.
A simplemachine is a mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. In general, they can be defined as the simplest mechanisms...
mechanical systems. Renaissance natural philosophers identified six simplemachines which were the elementary devices that put a load into motion, and...
SimpleMachines Forum (SMF) software is an open-source web application that provides Internet forum and message board services. It is developed by Simple...
SimpleMachines was an American independent record label in Arlington, Virginia. The label was founded by Derek Denckla and Jenny Toomey and Brad Sigal...
All of the simplemachines may be described as machine elements, and many machine elements incorporate concepts of one or more simplemachines. For example...
Look up simple in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Simple or SIMPLE may refer to: Simplicity, the state or quality of being simpleSimple (album), by...
Goldberg machine, named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is a chain reaction–type machine or contraption intentionally designed to perform a simple task...
weight machine is an exercise machine used for weight training that uses gravity as the primary source of resistance and a combination of simplemachines to...
An exercise machine is any machine used for physical exercise. These range from simple spring-like devices to computerized electromechanical devices to...
of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simplemachines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be moved...
performance of the machine compared to its theoretical maximum as performed by an ideal machine. The mechanical efficiency of a simplemachine is calculated...
(rotational force) to a linear force. It is one of the six classical simplemachines. The most common form consists of a cylindrical shaft with helical...
A lever is a simplemachine 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...
300 BC Stirrup first few centuries AD Several of the six classic simplemachines (wheel and axle, lever, pulley, inclined plane, wedge, and screw) were...
function, have been based on these simple useless machines. The Italian artist Bruno Munari began building "useless machines" (macchine inutili) in the 1930s...
been replaced by machines that combine all of their functions, that is combine harvesters or combines. However, the simplermachines remain important...
Hero of Alexandria (c. 10–70 AD) identified the pulley as one of six simplemachines used to lift weights. Pulleys are assembled to form a block and tackle...
or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six classical simplemachines defined by Renaissance scientists. Inclined planes are used to move...
notation as A B C - * D E + +. Compiling and running this on a simple imaginary stack machine would take the form: # stack contents (leftmost = top = most...
simple mold used for low quantity work. It is used in the injection molding and printing industries. It is made by a hand injection molding machine....
weapons. Moss, Matthew (18 July 2017). "The Soviet DP-28 Was a Brute-SimpleMachine Gun". War is Boring. Archived from the original on 11 April 2018. Retrieved...
labor. Heavy equipment functions through the mechanical advantage of a simplemachine, the ratio between input force applied and force exerted is multiplied...
Machine learning (ML) is a field of study in artificial intelligence concerned with the development and study of statistical algorithms that can learn...
Spain 25 BC: Noodle in Lajia in China 1st century AD: The aeolipile, a simple steam turbine is recorded by Hero of Alexandria. 1st century AD: The first...
Lectures on Physics as an illustration of the laws of thermodynamics. The simplemachine, consisting of a tiny paddle wheel and a ratchet, appears to be an example...
done by a simplemachine, compound machine, or any type of engine model. In common terms, it is the energy output, which for simplemachines is always...
The wheel and axle is a simplemachine consisting of a wheel attached to a smaller axle so that these two parts rotate together in which a force is transferred...
Global Information