Lever Terminology

Click on the "Definitions" button shown above. This brings you to an illustration of a lever system. Key components of this system are:

a. A lever has two sides. On one side we apply a force (effort), while work is performed on the other side; the illustration shows the two sides. On the left hand side we apply force on the lever, we refer to this side as the effort-side. On the right hand, the lever lifts a weight, thereby getting work done. Therefore, the right hand side is referred to as the work-side.

b. The lever pivots around a fulcrum. In the illustration provided here, the fulcrum is located at the middle of the lever.

c. The length of the effort-side is defined as the length from the point where the force is applied to the fulcrum. In the illustration, the length of the effort-side is indicated by L1.

d. The length of the work-side is defined by the distance between the fulcrum and the point where the weight is acting. In the illustration, the length of the work-side is indicated by L2.