Simple Machines

Simple machines are devices that change the amount, or magnitude, of force or the direction of a force being exerted on something. The standard list of simple machines (at least as far as school science standards define them) is the pulley, screw, wheel and axle, inclined plane, wedge, and lever. Most of these are very old—the wheel’s origin is lost in antiquity, and Archimedes knew about the lever, screw, and pulley about 2,300 years ago.