Simple Machines: Overview
What is a Simple Machine?
Simple Machines are basic mechanical devices for applying a force and doing work. More complex machines are made up of a bunch of simple machines. Everyday you use machines without even thinking about it. A machine is anything that helps make work easier. Basic tools like staplers, screwdrivers and scissors are simple machines. These machines are all based on simple inventions like levers, planes, pulleys or wheels.
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Fast Facts!
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How did the Egyptians build the Great Pyramids thousands of years ago (~2,500 BCE)? Could you build a pyramid using 9,000-kilogram (~10-ton or 20,000-lb) blocks of stone with your bare hands? That's like trying to move a large elephant with your bare hands! How many people might it take to move a block that big? It would still be a challenge to build a pyramid today even with modern tools, such as jackhammers, cranes, trucks and bulldozers. But without these modern tools, how did Egyptian workers cut, shape, transport and place enormous stones? Well, one key to accomplishing this amazing and difficult task was the use of simple machines.
Simple machines are devices with no, or very few, moving parts that make work easier. Many of today's complex tools are really just more complicated forms of the six simple machines. By using simple machines, ordinary people can split huge rocks, hoist large stones, and move blocks over great distances.
However, it took more than just simple machines to build the pyramids. It also took tremendous planning and a great design. Planning, designing, working as a team and using tools to create something, or to get a job done, is what engineering is all about. Engineers use their knowledge, creativity and problem-solving skills to accomplish some amazing feats to solve real-world challenges. People call on engineers to use their understanding of how things work to do seemingly impossible jobs and make everyday activities easier. It is surprising how many times engineers turn to simple machines to solve these problems.
Simple machines are devices with no, or very few, moving parts that make work easier. Many of today's complex tools are really just more complicated forms of the six simple machines. By using simple machines, ordinary people can split huge rocks, hoist large stones, and move blocks over great distances.
However, it took more than just simple machines to build the pyramids. It also took tremendous planning and a great design. Planning, designing, working as a team and using tools to create something, or to get a job done, is what engineering is all about. Engineers use their knowledge, creativity and problem-solving skills to accomplish some amazing feats to solve real-world challenges. People call on engineers to use their understanding of how things work to do seemingly impossible jobs and make everyday activities easier. It is surprising how many times engineers turn to simple machines to solve these problems.
