What is Machine: Definition and 968 Discussions

A machine is a human-made device that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. Machines can be driven by animals and people, by natural forces such as wind and water, and by chemical, thermal, or electrical power, and include a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement. They can also include computers and sensors that monitor performance and plan movement, often called mechanical systems.
Renaissance natural philosophers identified six simple machines which were the elementary devices that put a load into motion, and calculated the ratio of output force to input force, known today as mechanical advantage.Modern machines are complex systems that consist of structural elements, mechanisms and control components and include interfaces for convenient use. Examples include: a wide range of vehicles, such as automobiles, boats and airplanes; appliances in the home and office, including computers, building air handling and water handling systems; as well as farm machinery, machine tools and factory automation systems and robots.

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  1. I

    Build a Shive Wave Machine - Project 102

    Hello everyone, I am taking a course called project 102 which based on doing projects and it its mandatory if you want to study engineering. Even though I want to study Manufacturing Enginnering all projects related to it was taken so i was left with this "Build your shive wave machine"...
  2. F

    Grass Trimmer machine ( Portable)

    Hi everyone, is it possible to build a grass cutter that can cut grass and vacuum it at the same time?
  3. N

    Turing machine depth-first search algorithm

    Homework Statement On the tapes of Turing machine recorded the number of vertices (n) in the binary system, the length of the desired cycle - k (in binary), and the adjacency matrix of the graph. Required to construct a Turing machine, which checks for the cycles of k-length in the graph, and...
  4. U

    Lagrangian equation for 5 pulley Atwood Machine.

    Homework Statement Consider the Atwood’s pulley shown below. The masses are 4m, 3m, and m. Let x and y be the directed distances from the centers of the fixed (i.e. inertial) top pulleys for the left and right masses as indicated. http://imgur.com/VXEygxt a) Write down the Lagrangian...
  5. M

    Designing Moore Machine: Tips & Troubleshooting

    Hopefully this post isn't too long, I am going to try to give you as much relevant information as possible so you can answer this easily. For a class project, I am required to design a Moore Machine based on a problem that we were given. I have already done this with a Mealy Machine, but I am...
  6. P

    Why is it bad to put metal in an MRI machine?

    I saw a House episode where a person had internal bleeding because they had metal inside their body and they went into an MRI machine. I'm learning about NMR now and I want to try and understand it more.
  7. J

    Pulley System Problem with String Impulse (Atwood's Machine)

    Homework Statement Two particles of masses 8 kg and 5 kg are connected to the two ends of a light inextensible string which passes over a fixed smooth pulley. Initially each of the two particles are held at a position which is 5 m above a horizontal ground. The objects are then released from...
  8. R

    Wondering if a machine could be said to be 100% efficient

    I was just wondering if a machine could be said to be 100% efficient if for example it gave out heat, light and sound but all I these types of energy are wanted and not wasted? Thanks for the replies
  9. A

    Force of a nail inside an MRI machine

    I just want to gain a ballpark estimate for how much force an MRI machine can generate on a small object such as a nail.. let's say the magnet is 1-2 Tesla. Very rough estimates are ok.
  10. R

    Washing machine drain pump motor type

    Hi guys! recently I have changed my washing machine drain pump (looks like this http://www.yourspares.co.uk/parts/ys140670/universal-askoll-washing-machine-magnet-motor-pump-C00273407.aspx) and I am just curious what type of the motor is used? There is like a transformer on the back but there...
  11. M

    Turing machine problem to getting startet

    Good everning! I am currently working on problems related to turing machines. Lets say we have a turing machine T . Vi can see the Turing machine driving in state 1, state 2 and so forth. If we do this we can set it up as a table. see under. in my head it will look like this (R is a...
  12. K

    What is the TSS Engine and how can it enhance space-related learning?

    Hello there, To give a little information, I have recently finished my MRes Computer Science project whereby I attempted to create a program suitable for educational purposes, applying many real-world Physics formulae to create a visually representative real-time simulation of a Solar...
  13. W

    Linking a HP50g to a Windows 8 machine

    So I just grabbed myself a 50g, after taking to the pressure of using TI-84s for years here in the US. Loving the feature set and RPN mode, but I can't figure out how to connect this to my laptop running Win 8. Conn4x doesn't seem to see it, and Windows tells me that it can find a USB driver...
  14. S

    Creating an Anti-Matter Machine at Home

    Hi, I am an Australian High School student who enjoys studying mathematical and scientific phenomena. It is a mandatory requirement of all students my age that next year we complete a Personal Research Project. The project is designed in a way that allows students to pick their desired area of...
  15. D

    Atwood's Machine, massive pulley and upwards force acting upon it.

    Homework Statement The usual configuration of an Atwood's Machine. Two masses: m1, m2 Accelerations (unknown): a1, a2, ap (Pulley) Rope Tension: T (Unknown) BUT: Massive pulley: mp Upwards force acting on pulley (i.e the pulley is not in equilibrium): F NOTE: Consider that all the...
  16. J

    Why Does the Atwood Machine Calculation Yield the Same Tension on Both Sides?

    Hello, I have a question about a sample problem in the McGraw Hill Physics 12 book. (p. 38-39). "An Atwood machine is made of two objects connected by a rope that runs over a pulley. The objects on the left (m1) has a mass of 8.5 and the object on the right (m2) has a mass of 17kg. a) What is...
  17. lisab

    Alternatives To The Wayback Machine?

    Right upfront: I'm a noob at this. How can I find a Craigslist ad that has expired? I tried the Wayback machine, it didn't have it in the archives. Any ideas?
  18. Femme_physics

    Machine Parts - Screws fastening a board calculation

    Homework Statement Board AB is fixed to the wall through 6 screws as described in the drawing. Beams CD and DE are connected to the board by joints at points C, D, E. At point D acts a vertical force of 7500 [N]. Calculate: A) The reaction forces at joints C, E. B) Describe the external...
  19. E

    Dixie Cup dispensers. How does this machine work?

    Dixie Cup dispensers. How does this machine work?!? Ok, it's definitely not magical (just wrote that to get your attention), but checkout this machine: How does this machine separate one cup from the rest of the stack? Can you think of a simple mechanism to do the same thing? I'm very...
  20. I

    Differences b/w Machine Accuracy, Smallest Representable & Norm. Numbers

    Homework Statement "Explain the difference between the machine accuracy, the smallest representable number, and the smallest normalized number in a floating point system".Homework Equations There is the bit-representation of floating numbers: (-1)^S * M * b^(E-e), using the fact that we can...
  21. I

    Time Traveling: Can We Go Back in Time?

    Ok so i am aware that if someone manages to travel faster than light, they are technically "travelling through time" but i was wondering if there was a way to travel backwards in time, i tried searching the web but haven't found anything so i was wondering if someone could explain it to me, also...
  22. Femme_physics

    Machine Parts - Relating technical mechanics to the mechanics

    Homework Statement Can anyone explain to me how is the left-sided drawing related to the right sided drawing? I asked the teacher but he confused me so I let it go. http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/3036/drawinge.jpg The description is this: This crane in the drawing is designed...
  23. K

    Conflict: why synchronous machine doesn't produce induced EMF in the DC field wires

    conflict: why synchronous machine doesn't produce induced EMF in the DC field wires Isn't it current path through winding which produce magnetic field (rotating) the must produce EMF in the dc winding of field (same theory of induction) but why isn't true in synchronous
  24. PhizKid

    Pedagogical machine acceleration when force is 0

    Homework Statement Homework Equations F = ma The Attempt at a Solution I'm completely unsure as to what the horizontal reaction force on m1 actually is. Any horizontal reaction force coming from m3 being constrained to be in between the two sides of m1 as shown will not cause m1 to...
  25. PhizKid

    Pedagogical Machine: Solving Homework Equations

    Homework Statement Homework Equations F = ma The Attempt at a Solution What we want is for m2 to be at rest relative to m1 because this implies m2 will not be sliding across the surface of m2 and this immediately implies m3 must be at rest in the vertical direction (in the lab...
  26. P

    Can a Linear-Coil Spring Improve the Accuracy of a Weighing Machine?

    Project: Weighing machine based on potentiometer Principle: On changing the length of the wire current in the circuit will change which will change the deflection in the ammeter Set up: On top of four or three spring(same spring constant) a board is attached so when a weight is kept on top...
  27. B

    Fresh Water Generation/Desalinization Machine? Any Ideas?

    Here in the US midwest we've been having a drought lately, and it got me thinking of ways that we might be able to generate water more efficiently. Right now we're pumping an enormous amount of water out of the Ogallala Aquifer, beyond the replacement rate even in a rainy year I think. My...
  28. N

    Need calculus and several books as a prerequisite for Machine Learning

    Hey! Happy New Year 2013 to all of you! I am in good mood for learning something new so I need advice. I'm currently watching the videos for Machine learning from Stanford University, but I'm stuck at Lagrangian multipliers and duality. I got solid background in Calculus I and II (I read...
  29. C

    Atwood's Machine with one side holding a variable mass

    Homework Statement Figure 5-47 shows Atwood's machine, in which two containers are connected by a cord (of negligible mass) passing over a frictionless pulley (also of negligible mass). At time t = 0, container 1 has mass 1.30 kg and container 2 has mass 2.80 kg, but container 1 is losing...
  30. D

    Moment of inertia and Atwood Machine

    Homework Statement The question is from a lab. The lab used an Atwood Machine with two masses suspended string looped over a pulley. The time for one mass to reach the ground was measured and acceleration of the mass was calculated. The results were plotted on a graph of weight difference...
  31. J

    Fortran What Should Be the Values of Ax and Ay in This Fortran 90 Code?

    I have the code. program star implicit none real (kind=8) :: x integer :: i dt=0.001 pi=4*(atan1.0) do i=1, Nsteps t = n*dt !calculate acceleration ax= ay=... !calculate values at next step vy=vy+ay*dt vx=vx+ax*dt x=x+vx*dt y=y+vy*dt end do...
  32. S

    Air gap flux density in DC machine

    Why is it that the air gap flux density is flat topped at no load. What happens to it's shape when machine is loaded?
  33. H

    Is Lucid Dreaming the Key to Unlocking Quantum Machine Learning?

    Hi, call me Heilsin. Lately, I've been reaching down into the bowels of lucid dreaming, and astral projection. Every night, I've been keeping logs of my dreams, and what they could possibly mean. My latest dream uncovered a very intricate machine. It used the basic principles of Quantum...
  34. C

    Archived Atwood Machine, I determining position of the masses.

    Homework Statement I know how to do this type of problem, I'm just confused as to how to determine the distance the (4m) mass goes up . Homework Equations N/A The Attempt at a Solution So I was thinking that if mass (5m) and mass (3m) go in opposite directions then mass (4m)...
  35. S

    Why poles of machine are always even?

    why poles of machine are always even?
  36. J

    Computational Physics Machine Problem

    We need to think of a machine problem which we are going to simulate and solve using fortran programming. Can someone please give me an idea on what machine problem to do? Something easy please coz I don't really have much idea about programming. I only know the basics. Thanks :)
  37. K

    Simple harmonic motion of a machine part

    Homework Statement A machine part is undergoing SHM with a frequency of of 5hz and amplitude of 1.80cm. How long does it take the part to go from x = 0 to -1.80cm? Homework Equations x = Acoswt The Attempt at a Solution X is given and convert it to metres 0.018. I need to...
  38. S

    Alcubierre warp drive as time machine.

    Hi. I heard it's possible to use an "Alcubierre warp drive" as a time machine, if they existed. But how, precisely, would that work?
  39. H

    Derivatives in an Atwood Machine

    Homework Statement I have the professor's solutions for a homework we handed in. There is a part that is confusing me. We have the following equation: $$E = \frac{1}{2}(m_1 + m_2)\dot{x}^2-(m_1-m_2)gx$$ Homework Equations We want to find: $$dE/dt = 0$$ The Attempt at a Solution...
  40. C

    Building a Time Machine: What You Need to Know

    if i want to create a time machine ..., so what kind of knowledge that i should have to make the nearest possible..?
  41. I

    Atwood's Machine: Calculating Velocity and Angular Velocity

    Homework Statement A horizontal cylinder on frictionless bearings has a moment of inertia of 0.8kg*m^2 and a radius of 22cm. A 15 kg mass is attached to a 8kg mass with a massless string wrapped around the cylinder. The string does not slip on the cylinder. If the 15 kg mass is released from...
  42. D

    Determining Scale Readings on an Atwood Machine

    Homework Statement Two masses, measuring 800g and 400g respectively, are attached to spring scales and an Atwood Machine. What will the reading of each scale be? https://www.physicsforums.com/attachments/52223 Homework Equations Fg = mg The Attempt at a Solution I think that...
  43. C

    Feynman's reversible lifting machine analogy- help

    Hi I'm having a very hard time trying to picture an argument in Feynmans physics volume one ). I can't picture this example he is talking about, so I wrote it down from the book and really hope someone can help me answer the question in the bottom. From the book (everything needed to know...
  44. K

    Atwood Machine: Energy & Work Homework Soln

    Homework Statement An atwood machince has a m1 = 4.92-kg block resting on a frictionless horizontal ledge. This block is attached to a string that passes over a pulley, and the other end of the string is attached to a hanging m2 = 2.46-kg block. The pulley is a uniform disk of radius...
  45. H

    Extracting Sign, Exponent, and Mantissa from 64-bit Machine Number

    Homework Statement The problem asks us to write a MATLAB function that takes as input a vector 'v' representing a 64-bit machine number in double precision, and extract the sign (t), the exponent (c), and the mantissa (f). Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I'm extremely novice at...
  46. N

    Tattoo Machine Coils: The Science Behind the Magic

    tried to leave this on the appropriate thread but it's locked! hope your not bored of the subject ;) there are some really in depth answers and stuff to be learned. i'm (surprise surprise!) a tattooer just getting into the practicality of building machines after a bunch of very expensive...
  47. A

    Philosophical: Is the universe a type of Turing machine?

    Here is a fun philosophical question I wonder about sometimes, given that my background is in computer science and not physics. In the field of computer science, a Turing Machine is considered to be able to carry out any computation. So, philosophically, could the universe be thought of as a...
  48. S

    Engineering DC Machine motor constant equation

    Homework Statement Given the no-load test results of a DC motor connected in shunt to be: Speed: 3000rpm Applied voltage: 239V Field current: 0.25A Calculate the motor constant K_m, where K_m = K Homework Equations not really sure about the equations to use i have these: Km = T/...
  49. A

    How can I design a linear generator for a wave energy converter?

    Hi, I am trying to design a Synchronous PM linear machine but do not know from where to start. The only known parameters are the required power and the maximum distance that the translator can move. Can anyone guide me on how to proceed please? Thanks Annalise
  50. J

    Help with an Atwood's Machine problem

    Homework Statement Consider the ideal Atwood's machine in Figure 4-65. When N washers are transferred from the left side to the right side, the right side descends 47.1cm in 0.40s. Find N.Homework Equations a = (m2-m1/m1+m2)g The Attempt at a Solution I'm honestly not sure where to start...
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