Mechanical Advantage - Law of Lever
Description
Mechanical advantage is a measure of the force amplification achieved by using a tool, mechanical device or machine system. Ideally, the device preserves the input power and simply trades off forces against movement to obtain a desired amplification in the output force.If a and b are distances from the fulcrum to points A and B and if force FA applied to A is the input force and FB exerted at B is the output, the ratio of the velocities of points A and B is given by a/b, so the ratio of the output force to the input force, or mechanical advantage, is given by:
Related formulasVariables
FB | output force applied to point B (N) |
FA | input force applied to point A (N) |
a | distance from the fulcrum to point A (m) |
b | distance from the fulcrum to point B (m) |