Mechanical amplifier

A mechanical amplifier or a mechanical amplifying element is a linkage mechanism that amplifies the magnitude of mechanical quantities such as force, displacement, velocity, acceleration and torque in linear and rotational systems. In some applications, mechanical amplification induced by nature or unintentional oversights in man-made designs can be disastrous, causing situations such as the 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse. When employed appropriately, it can help to magnify small mechanical signals for practical applications.

No additional energy can be created from any given mechanical amplifier due to conservation of energy. Claims of using mechanical amplifiers for perpetual motion machines are false, due to either a lack of understanding of the working mechanism or a simple hoax.