Force and Levers
A lever is a beam connected to ground by a hinge, or pivot, called a fulcrum. The ideal lever does not dissipate or store energy, which means there is no friction in the hinge or bending in the beam. In this case, the power into the lever equals the power out, and the ratio of output to input force is given by the ratio of the distances from the fulcrum to the points of application of these forces. This is known as the law of the lever.
Mathematically, this is expressed by
where Fin is the input force to the lever and Fout is the output force. The distances din and dout are the perpendicular distances between the forces and the fulcrum. The moments Min and Mout are the turning forces, known as the moment or torque.
Read more about this topic: Lever
Famous quotes containing the words force and/or levers:
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—Philip Roth (b. 1933)
“There are two levers for moving men—interest and fear.”
—Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821)