Application

Man's Way of Helping Himself:
By the use of an inclined plank a strong man can load the 600-pound bowlder on a wagon. Suppose the floor of the wagon is 2 feet above the ground, then if a 6-foot plank is used, 200 pounds of force will suffice to raise the bowlder; but the man will have to push with this force against the bowlder while it moves over the entire length of the plank.

Since work is equal to force multiplied by distance, the man has done work represented by 200 × 6, or 1200. This is exactly the amount of work which would have been necessary to raise the bowlder directly. A man of even enormous strength could not lift such a weight (600 lb.) even an inch directly, but a strong man can furnish the smaller force (200) over a distance of 6 feet; hence, while the machine does not lessen the total amount of work required of a man, it creates a new distribution of work and makes possible, and even easy, results which otherwise would be impossible by human agency.