Wheel

The wheel, invented during the Bronze Age.

A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be moved easily facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Wheels are also used for other purposes, such as a ship's wheel, steering wheel, potter's wheel, and flywheel.

Common examples are found in transport applications. A wheel reduces friction by facilitating motion by rolling together with the use of axles. In order for wheels to rotate, a moment needs to be applied to the wheel about its axis, either by way of gravity or by the application of another external force or torque.

Dependencies

• Wheel
  • Wheel and axle
• Friction

See also

• Inclined Plane
• Lever
• Pulley
• Screw
• Wedge
• Simple Machines

References

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Wheel, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors).