Statics › Section I · Friction › Topic I.3
Wedges
A wedge is the simplest machine there is: a tapered block that turns a modest push into a large sideways force. Whether it lifts a machine, splits a log or stays jammed in a doorway depends on friction at every face, and this topic shows how to account for all of it.
In this topic
- What a wedge does
- Free-body diagrams for wedges
- Getting friction directions right
- The frictionless benchmark
- Worked example: lifting a machine
- Reading the lifting result
- Self-locking wedges
- Worked example: withdrawing the wedge
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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