Lever & Mechanical Advantage

Lever & Mechanical Advantage Simulator — Balance Torques Interactively

A lever is the simplest machine, and it runs on torque, not force. This simulator lets you place a load and the effort you push with at different distances from the fulcrum, then watch the beam tip until the two torques balance. Move the effort farther out and a small push lifts a big load — the essence of mechanical advantage behind crowbars, seesaws, and wheelbarrows.

What you can do in this simulation

• Adjust the load, the effort, and each one's distance from the fulcrum
• Watch the beam tilt in real time until load and effort torques balance
• Read load torque, effort torque, and the mechanical advantage live
• See how a longer effort arm lets a smaller force balance a bigger load
• Connect the model to real levers — crowbars, seesaws, and wheelbarrows

Concepts covered

lever · torque · mechanical advantage · fulcrum · moment arm · simple machines · static equilibrium

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