Leverage in nature and technology
There are innumerable levers or levers in nature and technology. Applications of the law of levers - sometimes forces are increased, one reduced, but they always act as clever force converters.
Lever in nature - interesting examples
- Did you know that countless levers are also "built into" the human body? For example, the arms are designed in such a way that the biceps have to apply about eight times the force to hold a weight or a load with the hand. The arm behaves like a lever, the force ratio being given by the lever arms. The elbow joint naturally fulfills an important function here.
- Many plants also use leverage to toss their seeds around. Some flowers make particularly clever use of the leverage effect, which ensures that the nectar-collecting insects also touch the anthers - the sage is one such example.
- A little-known example from nature are snakes like the adder. Your fangs only stand up when you open your mau oil, otherwise they are folded up, with the tip pointing backwards. The complex folding mechanism is based on a lever system that is carried by the skull bones. If the snake opens its mouth, the skull bones rise and the tooth folds forward.
In technology - levers as a helper for people
It goes without saying that the law of levers and its function as a force converter in technology in the form of machines (with and without drive) is far and away represented more often than in nature: humans have only limited physical abilities and powers, but enormous Ingenuity. Levers were already of great importance in the construction of the Egyptian pyramids, because they helped to bring large and heavy components to the top.
- Countless household tools are based on the law of leverage. Think of a pair of pincers, a wheelbarrow or the countless variations of nutcrackers, can openers or corkscrews that make opening easier. The scissors are also a lever: cardboard is always cut at the back where the force is simply greater.
- Far less known is how bicycle transmissions convert forces. With derailleur gears, for example, the chain runs over sprockets of different sizes, which increase or decrease the force on the tire depending on their diameter.
- In countless machines in technology, levers play an important role in power transmission, for example in Tower cranes or the well-known shovel loaders, which lift loads of several tons thanks to their ingenious system can.
The law of leverage simply explained
You have certainly used the effect of a lever in everyday life, for example ...
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