A rod on a support: equal effort to raise or to lower
A pivoted rod and a pair of linked suspended rods with fractional load labels
The upper diagram shows a long horizontal rod balanced on a support, with a lever arm and hanging weight-boxes at one end, marked at the point a. The note states that the hand at a takes as much effort to raise the load as to lower it. A second, lower diagram of two linked suspended rods carries a ladder of fractional labels apportioning the weight, with a note (breaking off) that begins to consider every cord placed beyond the pole.
On this page
Equal effort to raise and to lower at point a
The hand acting at the point a endures as much labour in raising the rod as in lowering it. The claim accompanies a rod resting on a support with weights hung from a short arm at one end.
Fractional loads on cords beyond the pole
A ladder of fractions is set against the two linked suspended rods to divide the sustained weight among the cords. The accompanying note begins to state a rule for every cord placed beyond the pole, but the sentence is left unfinished.