Simple Machine

Have you ever tried to open a stubborn pickle jar, twisting the lid with all your might until your hands turn red? Just when you think it’s impossible, your grown-up gives it a little extra twist, and pop. It opens. That extra power? That was me, helping you out. Or what about playing on the seesaw at the park? You push off the ground with your feet, and suddenly you’re soaring up toward the sky while your friend gently goes down. That fun, magical up-and-down motion is my work, too. I’m like a secret superhero, hiding in plain sight all around you. I am the sharp, shiny edge that slices a juicy apple into perfect wedges for your snack. I am the gentle slope that lets you roll a heavy box into a truck without having to lift it. I am the spinning wheel that helps your bike glide down the street and the rope system that hoists a flag to the very top of a tall pole. I don't wear a cape or have a secret identity, but I give people superpowers every single day, turning a small push or pull into a mighty, magnificent force. Can you imagine having the strength to lift a giant rock with just one hand? With my help, you can. I am the ancient secret to making hard work feel easy. So, who am I? You can call me by my family name: the Simple Machine.

For thousands of years, people used my power without even knowing my name. Imagine the ancient Egyptians, building their colossal pyramids under the hot desert sun. How did they lift those massive stone blocks, each one heavier than a car? They used me. They built long, sloping ramps, which is one of my forms, the inclined plane, to slide the stones up, up, up. They also used long, sturdy logs as levers to pry and position the heavy blocks into place. They were brilliant engineers, but they didn't have a name for the scientific secret they were using. That all started to change a long time ago in ancient Greece, with a super-smart thinker named Archimedes. He was fascinated by how things worked. One day, he famously declared, “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” He was so excited because he had figured out the mathematical secret behind the lever—how a long bar resting on a pivot point could multiply force. He was the first person to really study me and write down the rules of how I work. Centuries later, during an exciting time of invention and art called the Renaissance, scientists decided to get me organized. They looked at all the different ways I helped people and realized I came in six special ‘families.’ There’s the lever, like a seesaw. There’s the wheel and axle, which you see on every car. The pulley uses a rope and a wheel to lift heavy things. The inclined plane is just a fancy name for a ramp. The wedge is like two ramps back-to-back, perfect for splitting things apart. And finally, there's the screw, which is like an inclined plane wrapped around a cylinder, great for holding things together. These six families are the original team of super-helpers.

You might think my six families are, well, simple. And you’d be right. But here’s the most amazing secret of all: I am the building block for every single complicated machine in the world. Think about a bicycle. It’s full of my family members. The pedals are levers, the wheels are wheels and axles, and there are even tiny screws holding it all together. What about a gigantic crane on a construction site, lifting steel beams high into the sky? It’s just a clever combination of levers, pulleys, and wheels and axles. From the tiny gears inside a watch to the powerful engine in a rocket ship, I am there, working behind the scenes. Once you understand me, you hold the key to invention. You gain the power to design, create, and build amazing things that can change the world. Every great inventor started by understanding how a lever could lift, how a wheel could roll, or how a screw could hold fast. So, look around you. Can you spot me in your classroom, on the playground, or in your kitchen? I am everywhere, waiting to help you turn a little bit of your effort into a great big result. What incredible things will you build with my help?