For simplicity sake, lets assume a mass equivalent to the earths mass, but the size of a basketball. Now lets assume the lever has no mass of its own, but it is perfectly rigid and will not bend no matter what. Now lets put the fulcrum at 1 meter from the mass we are lifting. And let us assume that the person at the end of the lever is pushing down with 100 kg worth of force. So how long is the lever? I would think it would be measured in light years.
2007-05-05 09:39:12 · 3 answers · asked by Phil H 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
The mass of the earth is 6 x 10^24kg. If the pusher uses 100kg then the lever needs a mechanical advantage of 6 x 10^22. So if the short end is 1 meter the long end is 6 x 10^22 meters. That is only 6 x 10^ 19 km. That is not very far on the planetary scale . If the sun is (assuming my math is correct) 166 x 10^6 km from the earth that means the lever would be about 38 times as long as the distance from the earth to the sun. That means the pusher at the end of the lever would be standing near where Pluto is, which is inside our solar system.
2007-05-05 09:58:39 · answer #1 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Archimedes established the Law of the levers in his book “On the equilibrium of planes” Archimedes only said "Give me a place to stand, and I will move the Earth." He was speaking about levers , but never actually use the exact phrase: " Give me a lever long enough and somewhere to stand and I will move the world."
2016-05-21 03:10:30 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
About 12 Parsecs long.
2007-05-05 09:46:48 · answer #3 · answered by Matt 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋