What is Elevator: Definition and 567 Discussions

An elevator (North American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a type of cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems such as a hoist, although some pump hydraulic fluid to raise a cylindrical piston like a jack.
In agriculture and manufacturing, an elevator is any type of conveyor device used to lift materials in a continuous stream into bins or silos. Several types exist, such as the chain and bucket elevator, grain auger screw conveyor using the principle of Archimedes' screw, or the chain and paddles or forks of hay elevators. Languages other than English, such as Japanese, may refer to elevators by loanwords based on either elevator or lift. Due to wheelchair access laws, elevators are often a legal requirement in new multistory buildings, especially where wheelchair ramps are not possible.
Some elevators can also travel horizontally in addition to the usual vertical motion.

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  1. M

    Your weight on a Space Elevator ?

    Your "weight" on a "Space Elevator"? I'm not sure the term "Space Elevator" is widely used, and outside of those who've read Clarke's THE FOUNTAINS OF PARADISE I'm not sure the term would mean much to many, so by way of an overly simplified description of the term... You put a big rock in...
  2. Ivan Seeking

    Scientist Sees Space Elevator in 15 Years

    http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1894&ncid=1894&e=1&u=/ap/20040625/ap_on_sc/space_elevator
  3. R

    Brain cramp on 2nd elevator problem

    "An elevator is moving upward at a constant velocity of 2.5 m/s. A ball is launched straight upward from the floor of the elevator with an initial velocity of 4.9 m/s (relative to the floor). (1) Determine the time the ball takes to reach its highest point from the standpoint of a person not...
  4. R

    Elevator acceration problem

    "In an elevator that is moving with constant acceleration, a person of 50 kg mass is standing on a bathroom scale that shows "55 kg". Determine the accerlation of the elevator." I'm pretty sure my answer is right. I'm just wondering if there's another way. So, 55 kg is 1.1 times 50 kg...
  5. K

    Solve Elevator Problem: Find Motor HP of 1000 kg Lift

    Hey all..here is another stumper (for me). "A 1000 kg elevator has a maximum load of 800 kg. If constant friction retards the elevator at 4000 N, to lift at 2 m/s, what does the motor's hp(horsepower) have to be?" Now, I was trying to do a lot of things with this one. I thought it was an...
  6. B

    Laws in freely falling elevator

    It seems that when talking about the GR, the textbooks usually give the example of a freely falling elevator. They say in such an elevator the laws take the same form as in SR. Why in such a elevator the laws take the same form as in SR? How is it related to equivalance theorem?
  7. A

    Cable that holds the elevator got disconnected

    say u r in a elevator, and suddenly the cable that holds the elevator got disconnected and u r falling to the ground while standing,and dropping really fast from 15th floor. you would die right ? this is the question.. just before the elevator crashes on the surface what if you jump ? would...
  8. JasonJo

    Digital Elevator: Designing a 2 Floor System

    hey guys I am stumped on this project: make a 2 floor elevator. i am going to use an H-bridge to control which way the motor spins (ie. clockwise will make the elevator go up, counter - down). anyway, here are the initial conditions to be met: elevator must stop at both floors elevator will...
  9. R

    How Do Elevator Accelerations Affect Weight Measurements?

    I'm stuck on some lab questions I have to answer in my physics class. In the lab we held a spring scale in an elevator. We recorded his weight of the scale to be 9.5 Newtons. We rode the elevator up and down and recorded the maximum and minimum readings on the scale. The maximum reading up...
  10. P

    Funny Things to Do in an Elevator

    Anyone ever see those lists of funny things to do in an elevator? Well, let's make one. A friend and I came up with a bunch: Pretend to be alseep leaning against the button pannel. Offer everyone on the elevator sailor hats and name tags. ask them to call you Captain, and push the buttons...
  11. J

    What Happens to a Candle and Mercury in a Freefalling Elevator?

    "There is a lit candle in an elevator mounted on a bracket attached to the middle of one wall (say, 2" from the wall). A drop of mercury is on the floor. The cable snaps and the elevator falls. What happens to the candle and the mercury?" From...
  12. P

    Does the elevator speed going up effect the free fall time?

    I ran across this physics problem in class yesterday, it seems simple but...... (assume simplest case) ok...a screw at the top of an elevator that is traveling upwards comes loose and falls. Does the elevator speed going up effect the free fall time? (like does the elevator move toward the...
  13. B

    Find the acceleration of the elevator.

    how can i find the answer w/o knowing the mass? A student stands on a bathroom scale in an elevator at rest on the 64th floor of a building. The scale reads 818 N. As the elevator moves up, the scale reading increases to 950 N, then decreases back to 818 N. Find the acceleration of the elevator.
  14. tandoorichicken

    Glass marble is dropped down an elevator shaft

    A glass marble is dropped down an elevator shaft and hits a thick glass plate on top of an elevatior that is descending at a speed of 2.0 m/s. The marble hits the glass plate 3.0 m below the point from which it was dropped. If the collision is elastic how high will the marble rise, relative to...
  15. M

    Relative motion of an elevator question

    Okay, we're learning relative motion in class and I just want to see if I am uderstanding things correctly. Okay there is a guy in an elevator and the elevator is on the ground. Also on the ground (outside of the elvator) is a ball. A ball is shot upward with Vo = 7 m/s. At the same time, the...
  16. A

    Elevator Kinematics: Calculating Acceleration with Pulley and Man

    Hi, here is the question: there is a elevator, an man is in it, via a pulley he can raise the elevator. zzzzz/o\ zzzzz|zz\ zzzzz|zz| ---zz|------ |zzzz|zzzzz| |zzzz|zzzzz| |zzz\o/zzzz| |zzzz|zzzzz| |zzz/z\zzzz| ------------ This is my picture so can't do better z are empty...
  17. D

    If I drop a vibrating 440 Hz tuning fork down the elevator shaft

    if I drop a vibrating 440 Hz tuning fork down the elevator shaft of a tall building and when I hear a freq. of 400 Hz, is it possible to determine how far has the tuning fork fallen? My friend said yes but I think no. Am i right?
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