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Traditionally, there are six devices that have been widely accepted as the simple machines:

Inclined plane (or ramp),

Lever,

Pulley,

Screw,

Wedge,

Wheel and axle.

Related Information:

Three: the lever, pulley and screw were studied by Archimedes in the 3rd Century BC. The remaining three: inclined plane, wedge, and wheel and axle, were studied and recognized by renaissance scientists, most notably by Galileo Galilei in 1600.

There has been controversy, especially concerning the wedge (when considered a movable inclined plane), and to a lesser extent, the screw or auger (when considered a helical inclined plane). However, the screw does translate rotational force into linear force, perhaps fitting the definition of a simple machine.

More recently, there have been those who believed that the relatively modern invention, the hydraulic system, also amplifies and changes the direction of applied force, and therefore, fits more perfectly than the screw or the wedge, the definition of a simple machine and so, should be included in the list.

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13y ago

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