Eli5: why are the tips of scissors worse at cutting than the base?
In: 38
Torque. The tips of the scissors are far from the hinge, which means that they have to travel further than the blades at the base do. Because of that, less force is applied at the tips than at the base.
Ever use a nutcracker or seafood sheller like [this](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51lmPrrcVkL._AC_SL1500_.jpg)? You’re going to have a hard time breaking a walnut open by hand, but if you put one in this near the hinge and you squeeze the ends of the handle together, it’s easy. Your hands are traveling a larger distance and applying less force, and the part where you put the nut in is traveling less distance and applying more force. You wouldn’t be able to crack that same walnut by keeping it down by the tips, you want it as close to the hinge as possible to make it easy.
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