A lever is a simple machine consisting of a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or fulcrum. A lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on itself. On the basis of the locations of fulcrum, load and effort, the lever is divided into three types. It is one of the six simple machines identified by Renaissance scientists. A lever amplifies an input force to provide a greater output force, which is said to provide leverage, which is mechanical advantage gained in the system, equal to the ratio of the output force to the input force. As such, the lever is a mechanical advantage device, trading off force against movement.
Levers can be used to exert a large force over a small distance at one end by exerting only a small force (effort) over a greater distance at the other.
Archimedes lever, Engraving from Mechanics Magazine, published in London in 1824
Simple lever, fulcrum and vertical posts
A simple machine is a mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. In general, they can be defined as the simplest mechanisms that use mechanical advantage to multiply force. Usually the term refers to the six classical simple machines that were defined by Renaissance scientists:Lever
Wheel and axle
Pulley
Inclined plane
Wedge
Screw
The screw's self-locking property is the reason for its wide use in threaded fasteners like bolts and wood screws
Illustration of a four-bar linkage from Kinematics of Machinery, 1876
