Which Support Bears More: the Strength of Balance Arms
The shorter arm carries the greater load; strength depends on nearness to the anchorage
A balance carrying two weights marked 1 and 2 heads three notes on the strength of 'supports.' Among supports of equal placement, thickness, shape and material on a fulcrum, one bears more than the other in proportion as the shortness of one arm enters into the length of the other. A support, transverse or upright, is stronger the nearer it lies to its fixing, and the more the lesser space between weight and fulcrum divides into the greater opposite space, the more weight that side sustains.
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The shorter arm sustains the greater weight
Among supports on a fulcrum of equal placement, thickness, shape and material, one bears more weight than another by as much as the shortness of the one enters into the length of the other. The two weights are marked 1 and 2 on the beam.
A support is stronger the nearer it lies to its anchorage
A transverse or upright support is more or less strong according as it is nearer to or farther from its fixing; the more the lesser space between weight and fulcrum divides into the greater opposite space, the more weight that side sustains.