LEVERLAB

LeverLab

Learn

A reference companion to the museum — curated topic sections that go deeper on the subjects behind the collection. Every entry, image, and fact is drawn from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons.

How Levers & Pulleys Work

The fulcrum-and-arm math behind a lever, and the rope-and-wheel math behind a pulley — plus the everyday tools, from a wheelbarrow to a ship's capstan, built from them.

8 entries

How Gears, Wheels & Axles Work

Rotating machines that trade speed for torque — meshed gears and gear trains, the wheel and axle, and the mills, steering wheels, and rack railways that put rotation to work.

11 entries

How Inclined Planes, Wedges & Screws Work

The ramp geometry behind a slope, a wedge, and a screw thread — why a shallow ramp needs less force, and why a fine-threaded screw can generate enormous clamping force.

8 entries

Pioneers of Mechanics

The thinkers and devices behind everyday mechanics — Archimedes and Heron of Alexandria, Leonardo da Vinci's mechanical sketches, and historic instruments like the astrolabe and the Antikythera mechanism.

11 entries