Pulleys

Man's Way of Helping Himself:
The pulley, another of the machines, is merely a grooved wheel around which a cord passes. It is sometimes more convenient to move a load in one direction rather than in another, and the pulley in its simplest form enables us to do this. In order to raise a flag to the top of a mast, it is not necessary to climb the mast, and so pull up the flag; the same result is accomplished much more easily by attaching the flag to a movable string, somewhat as in Figure 109, and pulling from below. As the string is pulled down, the flag rises and ultimately reaches the desired position.

If we employ a stationary pulley, as in Figure 109, we do not change the force, because the force required to balance the load is as large as the load itself. The only advantage is that a force in one direction may be used to produce motion in another direction. Such a pulley is known as a fixed pulley.

FIG. - By means of a pulley, a force in one direction produces motion in the opposite direction.