When I use a lever, I can lift heavier stuff. Where exactly does that additional force come from? Was it inside me all the time, or does it come from somewhere outside of me?

Question

When I use a lever, I can lift heavier stuff. Where exactly does that additional force come from? Was it inside me all the time, or does it come from somewhere outside of me?

In: Physics

Answer 1

One way of looking at it is that you’re moving one end of the lever a a lot only to move the other end a little; you apply a force to one end of the lever over a great distance, and that same force is applied over only a short distance on the other.