What is work? Physics definitions
Ancient Egyptian cattle plowing (Louvre Museum, Paris) You might think you know what work is, like homework, or having to pick up your room, right? But to scientists, work has [...]
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Wheel and axle – Simple machines – Physics
An Egyptian potter uses a pottery wheel, about 2000 BC. He uses his hand to spin the wheel. Wheels do not exist in nature, and no animals use them except [...]
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08, 2017
What is a wedge? – Simple machine – Physics
What is a wedge? This stone hand-ax from Chennai, India is a kind of wedge. A wedge is a kind of inclined plane What is a wedge? Like screws, wedges are [...]
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Screw – Simple machines – Physics
A cider press with big wooden screws What is a screw? People always count screws as a separate kind of simple machine. But really screws are just one kind of inclined plane. [...]
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Movable pulley – Simple machines – Physics
Bike hoist pulleys A movable pulley is a way to use a pulley to make it easier to move heavy things - to get a mechanical advantage. In the picture, someone is [...]
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Pulley – Simple machines – Physics
Clothesline pulley A pulley is really a kind of wheel, just as a screw is a kind of inclined plane. But pulleys are so important that people give them their own category. A pulley [...]
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08, 2017
Types of lever – Simple machines – Physics
Types of lever: What kind of lever is a see-saw? Three types of lever All levers fall into one of three types of lever. How can we tell which lever [...]
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08, 2017
Levers – Simple machines – Physics
Levers: An orangutan child using a stick as a lever What is a lever? A lever is basically just a long stick that you push or pull against a fulcrum [...]
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08, 2017
Simple machines – Physics
An example of a screw, a wedge, a wheel and axle, and a lever Machines are ways to make it easier to do work. Many plants and animals have evolved natural [...]
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Inclined plane – Simple machines
An inclined plane: Earth ramp to the fortress at Masada (Thanks to www.HolyLandPhotos.org) What is an inclined plane? An inclined plane is any slope or ramp, like a wheelchair ramp [...]
