lever: Quick Facts

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Illustration showing two types of levers: on the left, a bar used to lift a rock with the fulcrum under the bar; on the right, a nutcracker cracking a nut with force applied at the handles.

A diagram displays six types of simple machines with labeled illustrations: inclined plane, wedge, screw, lever, wheel and axle, and pulley, each shown with real-world examples like ramps, axes, screws, seesaws, door handles, and pulleys lifting objects.

What is a simple machine?

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fulcrum machine simple machine screw pendulum wheel and axle Wheel pulley inclined plane wedge particle accelerator clock lubrication

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simple machine: The lever

Key People

Portrait of Archimedes by Giuseppe Nogari shows an elderly man with white hair and beard, holding a compass, gazing downward, set against a dark background.

Archimedes

Greek mathematician and inventor

White semi truck on the Highway. Truck, lorry, motor vehicle to carry freight or goods or perform special services. Cab, carrier, semis trucks.

Machinery and Manufacturing