The Atwood machine (or Atwood's machine) was invented in 1784 by Rev. George Atwood as a laboratory experiment to verify the mechanical laws of motion with constant acceleration. Atwood's machine is a common classroom demonstration used to illustrate principles of classical mechanics.
The ideal Atwood Machine consists of two objects of mass m1 and m2, connected by an inextensible massless string over an ideal massless pulley.
When m1 = m2, the machine is in neutral equilibrium regardless of the position of the weights.
When m1 ≠ m2 both masses experience uniform acceleration.
Read more about Atwood Machine: Equation For Constant Acceleration, Equation For Tension, Equations For A Pulley With Inertia and Friction
Famous quotes containing the words atwood and/or machine:
“you fit into me
like a hook into an eye”
—Margaret Atwood (b. 1939)
“He is no more than the chief officer of the people, appointed by the laws, and circumscribed with definite powers, to assist in working the great machine of government erected for their use, and consequently subject to their superintendence.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)