One of the most intriguing phenomena of the world is the ability to overcome the difficulties created by weight. All people are limited in regards to the carrying capacity because many of them are too heavy to lift. For instance, it is relatively easy to carry a car wheel, but it lifting a care using one’s physical force is not feasible. Nevertheless, it is certainly possible – after all, buildings are made of materials, which are significantly heavier than the carrying capacity of any individual. It is not a recent technological invention, since structures of immense size, such as Egyptian pyramids, were made in the Ancient Times. The specific mechanism that allowed such achievements and is crucial for construction is the pulley system.
The pulley system is a set of wheels and a rope, one end of which is attached to fixed object, while the other one is fixed on an object that has to be lifted. By wrapping the rope around wheels, it is possible to create mechanical advantage – the reduction in the force necessary to lift an object (Aslan 2022). The more wheels are used, the less force is needed – this is why construction cranes have several wheel-like components with a wire rope wrapped around them. However, construction is not the only sphere where pulleys are applied. In fact, it is entirely possible to set up a pulley system at home by using a rope to pull a heavy object. Yet, instead of pulling the rope directly, one can attach one end to a fixed point, wrap the remaining rope around the object and pull the second end of rope. Once again, mechanical advantage is created that allows overcoming the weight and minimizing the effort necessary to lift or move a heavy object.
Reference
Aslan S. I. (2022). Brief history of the pulleys and explanation of chief instructor Ishaq Efendi’s work on pulleys and pulley systems. In M. Ceccarelli & R. López-GarcÃa (Eds.), Explorations in the history and heritage of machines and mechanisms (pp. 406-418). Springer.