The mighty mathematics of the lever - Andy Peterson and Zack Patterson

Archimedes once said “Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the Earth.” While the idea of a person moving such a huge mass on their own might sound impossible, chances are you’ve seen this idea in action at your local playground. Andy Peterson and Zack Patterson use the seesaw to illustrate the amazing implications and uses of the lever.

Lesson by Andy Peterson and Zack Patterson, animation by The Moving Company Animation Studio.

[FishyArchaeologist]

Good video, but the statement that "simple machines reduce the amount of energy that is required for a task" is incorrect.  The energy to do a task remains constant; a simple machine reduces the force required (or power required) to do something, but at a cost of applying that force over a longer distance.  The force applied times the distance over which it is applied is the change in energy, which remains constant.

In fact, the force x distance rule for calculating torque (as shown in the video) relies precisely on the conservation of energy.

[biranfalk-dotan]

Simple machines do NOT reduce the amount of energy needed for a task. The work done is the same. They reduce the amount of FORCE.

[hougijock]

To be honest, I have never come across such a teacher like you sir!!

[dalma_makes]

This was so beautiful! Well done to the artist and creators!

[JaggedCanvas]

The visuals on this is so well done. Thanks Ted Ed.

[Tamizushi]

Hey you just need to pull the moon closer, that's all.

[kieranegg]

thx you just saved my science assignment

[duckymomo]

there are 3 classes of levers

the one featured is class 1: see-saw
class 2: wheelbarrow
class 3: baseball bat, fishing rod or tongs

[digestivebiscuits]

When the guy was lifting the earth, i was waiting for it to roll down the pole and squish him.... is that just me

[copernicus]

1:18: energy required is NOT reduced with the lever, rather the force is reduced. Energy is always conserved. Work In = Work Out

[luisfdconti]

That's a good proportionate drawing real scale right there at the end.

[LarsHarmsen]

So I just bought me one of those quadrillion light years long lever, but I still can't move the earth.
Do I need gravity below me or something to apply a force?

[newash]

I'm watching this video on my iPad on a laptop tray and didn't even realise that I'm balancing my iPad and beer at the same time using lever! Great video👍

[eduardoalejandrogarciagarc]

1. Toda palanca tiene tres componentes principales:
I El brazo de potencia
II El de resistencia
III El punto de apoyo.
2. La palanca esta equilibrada cuando, el producto de la fuerza de potencia y la longitud del brazo de potencia es igual al producto de la fuerza de resistencia y la longitud del brazo de resistencia
3 Para que una persona de 68 kg pueda levantar un bloque de 2, 5 toneladas necesitaría estar a 10 metros de distancia del punto de apoyo de nuestra palanca

[ahmermirza]

ted-ed videos...always leaving me goosebumped...

[rokuix]

note to self: when life (and uni) gets too complicated, always come back to Ted-Ed

[idicula]

I always thaught this was a philosophical Buddha type quote, but the beauty of it is both of science and wonder. Very much as two points on a grid make a line, three points make a plane, and so on and son four and five points make four and five demenshonal shape. Our understanding is only limited by the limits of our curiosity.

[earthianprithviwasi]

this was one THE BEST THINGS I HAVE LEARNED SO FAR, THANK YOU TEDed "WAITING FOR PART 10 OF THINK LIKE A CODER"

[gregoryhart]

Yeah but... there's no "downward" gravitational pull on Archimedes in space, so he'd have to do more than just sit on it :)

[KurdstanPlanetarium]

Easy said than done! Yakov Perelman in his famous book " Physics for Entertainment", discusses the idea of Archimedes trying to lift Earth; he would be using a lever with a longer arm 10^23 times longer than the shorter one, and to lift Earth by at least 1 cm, Archimedes must follow a hug arc in space about 10^18 Km. This is a colossal distance which Archimedes would have to push the lever to lift Earth just by 1 cm. Presuming that Archimedes could have lifted 60 Kg, 1m/s, then to lift Earth (5.97 * 10^24 Kg), he would need 10^21 Seconds = 31.7 Trillion years (Age of visible Universe =13.7 Billion years) !!