Page "Simple machine" Paragraph 9

A simple machine is an elementary device that has a specific movement ( often called a mechanism ), which can be combined with other devices and movements to form a machine.

Thus simple machines are considered to be the " building blocks " of more complicated machines.

This analytical view of machines as decomposable into simple machines first arose in the Renaissance as a neoclassical amplification of ancient Greek texts on technology, and is still a central part of engineering in today's age of applied science.

For example, wheels, levers, and pulleys are all used in the mechanism of a bicycle.

Between the simple machines and complex assemblies, several intermediate classes can be defined, which may be termed " compound machines " or " machine elements ".

The mechanical advantage of a compound machine is simply the product of the mechanical advantages of the simple machines of which it is composed.