Mechanical advantage

A machine's mechanical advantage says how many times it multiplies the force you put in. It is the load (the force the machine overcomes) divided by the effort (the force you apply). For a lever in balance it also equals the effort arm divided by the load arm: the distances of the effort and the load from the pivot. A mechanical advantage above 1 means less force than the load; below 1, as in tweezers or a fishing rod, you push harder but the far end moves further and faster; exactly 1 means only the direction of the force changes. It is a plain number, with no unit.

Depth 1 · Foundation

You can work out a machine's mechanical advantage as load divided by effort, and a lever's as effort arm divided by load arm, use it to find the force needed, and say what an advantage above, below or equal to 1 gives you.

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1
Foundation
You can work out a machine's mechanical advantage as load divided by effort, and a lever's as effort arm divided by load arm, use it to find the force needed, and say what an advantage above, below or equal to 1 gives you.
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Levers, depth 4A lever's mechanical advantage comes straight from the balance of its torques.

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