Examples of Simple Machines

In other words, simple machines are those artifacts or mechanical objects (except those based on the inclined plane), which by means of a force can apply it in displacement other than the action that is being applied or transform the force or magnitude into another .

The slingshot is a simple machine

20 examples of simple machines:

1. Wheel.- The wheel is one of the simple machines that was “invented” first, being used at first for pottery lathes and carts (carts, war chariots, etc.), diversifying its use until today.

2. Lever.- The lever is perhaps one of the oldest and simplest simple machines that have been used, it is a rigid bar that can rotate freely around a point of support, transmitting the force applied to it, amplifying it. , with which very heavy objects can be moved.

3. The tweezers .- The tweezers are a simple machine that works based on a mechanism of simple levers, which are operated manually, this mechanism causes the pressure exerted at one end to be amplified by the two levers that are “joined” on one axis, amplifying the force with which things are held, or where appropriate, when dealing with cutting pliers (scissors, cutting pliers, pliers (pliers), etc. Being able to make cuts.

4. Scissors.- It is a simple machine that works in a similar way to tweezers, but in this case instead of taking (“grabbing”) objects with amplified force, what it does is exert a force on some blades, to cut .

The scissors is a simple machine that has been used by humans for millennia to the present day.

5. Manual drill.- The manual drill has been known for centuries, being first made of wood and later made of metal, with this tool you can drill holes in wood and other materials.

6. Boat sail.- The boat sail or nautical sail, is a simple machine that basically consists of a support (a pole or mast and a crossbar), and a fabric with which the force of the wind is used to move boats. It has been known for centuries and it is known that they have been used both to move boats in seas, rivers and lakes, as well as to move land vehicles, (in China they were used for this purpose, several centuries ago, an invention that did not prosper).

7. Bow (and arrows) .- It is a very simple machine, which consists of a bow (generally made of flexible wood), and a tensioner (rope, tendon or animal hide), which allows the potential energy that is held by the bow and subsequently released as kinetic energy, propels the arrow that is fired at very high speed.

8. Slingshot.- The slingshot or slingshot is a simple machine that consists of a base or frame, which can be a wooden, bone or metal frame, in the shape of the letter Y, joined by two elastic bands or tensioners, which can be made of rubber, (formerly, products such as leather and animal tendons were used as in bows), tensioners that stretch by tensing, so that in this way potential energy is generated that will be transformed into kinetic energy by launching stones or other projectiles (which are previously placed on a leather or fabric base called a chamois), at high speeds, amplifying the force that could be used when launching these projectiles simply by hand.

9. Slingshot.- The slingshot is a simple machine that uses the potential energy accumulated by rotating the slingshot with the projectile that is subsequently released, making that projectile advance at high speed. It is a weapon that consists of two ropes, fabrics or straps, the ends of which are attached to a flexible cavity (usually made of leather), which when rotating accumulates energy that is later released when one of the ends is released, allowing the projectile to come out. fired.

10. Inclined plane.- The inclined plane is a simple machine that allows lifting heavy bodies to a certain height. It consists of a flat, smooth surface, without elevations or reliefs, which forms an acute angle with the ground, which facilitates the lifting or lowering of heavy objects.

11. Pulley.- It is a mechanical traction device, with which the force necessary to lift a weight can be reduced, since it consists of the combination of a rope and a wheel with which a rotational movement is carried out, One end of the rope is attached to the weight to be lifted and the other is pulled, counterbalancing the force applied to lift something. Since the movement of lowering one end of the rope automatically raises that which is attached to the other end, reducing the force necessary to lift said weight.

12. Lathe (potter’s) .- It is a simple machine that has existed for millennia, it is a rotating device that when rotating allows the centrifugal force to help the clay (which is centered in the middle of the rotating plate), hacienda to facilitate the work of shaping it by the potter.

13. Screw.- It is a mechanical device that allows fixing, thanks to the fact that it has an inclined plane system that is screwed in a spiral shape. These are generally made of metal and feature a “head.”

14. Wedge.- This is a simple machine that bases its operation on the inclined plane. It is a piece of wood, metal or other material that works as a double inclined plane, with which objects can be adjusted, tightened or “wedged”, as well as to split solid objects such as the chisel and the ax.

15. Chisel.- It is a tool (simple machine), generally made of metal, consisting of a steel bar (there are also stone chisels and other materials), at the end of which there is a wedge-shaped edge, which allows easy cuts thanks to the force exerted at one end by a blow of the mallet descending through the bar concentrating on the wedge, which in turn produces a horizontal force that allows the object to be opened or broken.

16. Knife.- This is one of the oldest tools made by humans, in whose operation the use of two infected planes intervenes, which facilitate the action of cutting, thanks to the fact that the edge (which is made in the wedge), having a downward pressure exerted (for example when cutting a vegetable), allows easy and fast cutting of the object in question, which is helped by the edge (and in your case by the saw if possesses it), which increase its ability to cut.

17. Oars.- This is an instrument generally made of wood or plastic, which uses the lever to carry out the movement and impulse movement of the boats. It consists of a stick or bar that ends in the shape of a shovel at one end. It uses the lever movement either taking the body itself as a point of support or, if applicable, it is placed on an oarlock that gives it support, being moved by the force of the user that is increased by the lever.

18. Ax.- It is a tool (it is also a weapon), which uses the principle of a double inclined plane in a similar way to the chisel and the knife, since at the tip it consists of a wedge-shaped edge, which when performing the cutting movement (pressure towards the tip), the downward force of the blow towards the object (for example a trunk), allows the object to be opened or split.

19. Counterweight.- It is a weight that is used to balance the forces of another weight, thanks to the fact that it has a support point or axis, in the center of a bar. In ii it is a kind of lever that allows moving and lifting large weights, using a support point that allows a weight at one end of the bar to reduce the effort necessary for such action.

20. Nut.- It is a piece that is coupled with a screw. It is almost always made of metal), which inside has a thread or spiral that is itself an inclined plane system in a spiral shape, which allows to firmly hold removable elements, as well as to move linearly (by means of a rectilinear movement) , facilitated by the rotating movement of the spiral of the nut and of a screw, when the nut is in a device of this type. It is a simple machine that uses the basic principles of physics to counteract forces.