A water tap has a wide circular handle attached to a central narrow rod inside. Why is it easier to turn the…
A water tap has a wide circular handle attached to a central narrow rod inside. Why is it easier to turn the tap off using the wide handle rather than turning the narrow rod directly with fingers?
Turning the larger wheel radius applies a greater turning force (torque) to the smaller axle
The wide handle reduces the distance the hand has to travel
The axle rotates faster than the handle
The wide handle eliminates friction inside the pipe
Solution
A wide handle acts as the wheel and the narrow rod as the axle. Applying force at the larger radius yields a higher turning effort on the smaller axle.