The Wheel and Axle
It is a very simple machine in use for many centuries for lifting heavy loads such as pulling a bucket of water from a deep well. The wheel and axle consist of two cylinders one of larger radius ‘ER” and the other of smaller radius “r” which are mounted on the same shaft which is a common axis of rotation. The cylinder with larger radius is called the wheel while the cylinder with smaller radius is called the axle. The shaft is gripped in clamps so that it can be rotated freely.
The effort is applied at the end of a rope wound round the wheel and the load is tied to a rope wound round the axle in the opposite direction. If the rope round the wheel is unwound, it will cause more rope to be wound around the axle and so it lifts the load. When the effort applied turns the wheel through one complete revolution, the axle also turns through one revolution.
No comments:
Post a Comment