tool

Information about tool

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A modern hammer is directly descended from ancient hand tools


A tool or device is a piece of equipment which typically provides a mechanical advantage in accomplishing a physical task, or provides an ability that is not naturally available to the user of a tool. The most basic tools are simple machines. For example, a crowbar simply functions as a lever. The further out from the pivot point, the more force is transmitted along the lever. When particularly intended for domestic use, a tool is often called a utensil.

Philosophers once thought that only humans used tools, and often defined humans as tool-using animals. But observation has confirmed that , including monkeys, apes, several corvids, sea otters, and others. Later, philosophers thought that only humans had the ability to make tools, until zoologists observed birds[1] and monkeys[2][3][4] making tools. Now humans' unique relationship to tools is considered to be that we are the only species that uses tools to make other tools.

Most anthropologists believe that the use of tools was an important step in the evolution of mankind.[5] Humans evolved an opposable thumb - useful in holding tools - and increased dramatically in intelligence, which aided in the use of tools.[6]

Some tools can also serve as weapons, such as a hammer or a knife. Similarly, people can use weapons, such as explosives, as tools.

Functions of tools

Many tools or groups of tools serve to perform one or more of a set of basic operations, such as:

Tool substitution

Often, by design or coincidence, a tool may share key functional attributes with one or more other tools. In this case, some tools can substitute for other tools, either as a make-shift solution or as a matter of practical efficiency. "One tool does it all" is a motto of some importance for workers who cannot practically carry every specialized tool to the location of every work task. Tool substitution may be divided broadly into two classes: substitution "by-design", or "multi-purpose" use, and substitution as make-shift. In many cases, the designed secondary functions of tools are not widely known. As an example of the former, many wood-cutting hand saws integrate a carpenter's square by incorporating a specially shaped handle which allows 90° and 45° angles to be marked by aligning the appropriate part of the handle with an edge and scribing along the back edge of the saw. The latter is illustrated by the saying "All tools can be used as hammers." Nearly all tools can be repurposed to function as a hammer, even though very few tools are intentionally designed for it.

Multi-use tools

  • A Multitool is a hand tool that incorporates several tools into a single, portable device.
  • Lineman's pliers incorporate a gripper and cutter, and are often used secondarily as a hammer.
  • Hand saws often incorporate the functionality of the carpenter's square in the right-angle between the blade's dull edge and the saw's handle.

History

Main article: History of technology


Evidence of stone tool manufacture and use dates from the start of the Stone Age, though it is possible that earlier tools of less durable material have not survived. The earliest tools were made by now-extinct hominid species preceding homo sapiens[7]. The transition from stone to metal tools roughly coincided with the development of agriculture around the 4th millenium BC [8].

Mechanical devices experienced a major expansion in their use in the Middle Ages with the systematic employment of new energy sources: water (waterwheels) and wind (windmills).

Machine tools occasioned a surge in producing new tools in the industrial revolution. Advocates of nanotechnology expect a similar surge as tools become microscopic in size.[9][10]

See also

References

1. ^ Selection of tool diameter by New Caledonian crows Corvus moneduloides, Jackie Chappell and Alex Kacelnik November 29, 2003
2. ^ The Throwing Madonna: Essays on the Brain, William H. Calvin
3. ^ Scientific American Frontiers, Program #1504 "Chimp Minds" transcript PBS.org Airdate Feb 9, 2005
4. ^ Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure: Chimpanzee
5. ^ Sam Lilley, Men, Machines and History: The Story of Tools and Machines in Relation to Social Progress, 1948 Cobbett Press.
6. ^ Primates and Their Adaptations, 2001, M.J. Farabee. Retrieved on November 6, 2006.
7. ^ Olduwan#The_tool_users
8. ^ Bronze_Age
9. ^ Nanotechnology: Big Potential In Tiny Particles, David Whelan. Retrieved on November 6, 2006
10. ^ Will this Tiny Science Usher in the Next Industrial Revolution?, Katrina C. Arabe. Retrieved on November 6, 2006


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Types of tools
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In physics and engineering, mechanical advantage (MA) is the factor by which a mechanism multiplies the force put into it. Following are simple machines where the mechanical advantage is calculated.

  • The beam shown is in static equilibrium around the fulcrum.

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simple machine is any device that only requires the application of a single force to work. Work is done when a force is applied and results in movement over a set distance. The work done is the product of the force and the distance.
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A crowbar, also called a pry bar or prybar, or more informally known as a 'jimmy' or 'jimmy bar' is a tool consisting of a metal bar with a single curved end and flattened points, often with a small fissure on the curved end for removing nails.
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lever (from French lever, "to raise", c.f. a levant) is a rigid object that is used with an appropriate fulcrum or pivot point to multiply the mechanical force that can be applied to another object.
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Philosophy is the discipline concerned with questions of how one should live (ethics); what sorts of things exist and what are their essential natures (metaphysics); what counts as genuine knowledge (epistemology); and what are the correct principles of reasoning (logic).
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If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or .
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monkey is any member of either the New World monkeys or Old World monkeys, two of the three groupings of simian primates, the third group being the apes. The New World monkeys are classified within the parvorder Platyrrhini, whereas the Old World monkeys (superfamily
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  • An ape is a member of the Hominoidea superfamily of primates.
Ape or APE may also refer to:
  • Ape, Inc., video game development company
  • Ape, Latvia, a town in Latvia, northwest of Alūksne
  • A*P*E, a 1976 film

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Corvidae
Vigors, 1825

Genera

many, see article text

Corvidae is a family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies and nutcrackers (Clayton and Emery 2005, [1] ).
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Enhydra
Fleming, 1828

Species: E. lutris

Binomial name
Enhydra lutris
(Linnaeus, 1758)


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Zoology (from Greek: ζῴον, zoion, "animal"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") is the biological discipline which involves the study of animals.
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Anthropology (from Greek: ἄνθρωπος, anthropos, "human being"; and λόγος, logos, "speech" lit. to talk about human beings) is the study of humanity.
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Human evolution is the part of biological evolution concerning the emergence of humans as a distinct species from other apes. It is the subject of a broad scientific inquiry that seeks to understand and describe how this change and development occurred.
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The thumb is one of the five fingers.

Anatomy of the thumb

Bones

The thumb consists of 3 bones:
  • distal phalanx (of the first digit)
  • proximal phalanx (of the first digit)
  • first metacarpal

Muscles


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weapon is a tool used to injure, incapacitate, or kill an adversary.[1][2] Weapons may be used to attack and defend, and consequently also to threaten or protect. Metaphorically, anything used to damage (even psychologically) can be referred to as a weapon.
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A hammer is a tool meant to deliver blows to an object. The most common uses are for driving nails, fitting parts, and breaking up objects. Hammers are often designed for a specific purpose, and vary widely in their shape and structure.
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knife is a sharp-edged (single or double edged) instrument consisting of a thin blade used for cutting and fitted with a handle. The knife can be used as a tool or a weapon.
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explosive material is a material that either is chemically or otherwise energetically unstable or produces a sudden expansion of the material usually accompanied by the production of heat and large changes in pressure (and typically also a flash and/or loud noise) upon initiation;
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knife is a sharp-edged (single or double edged) instrument consisting of a thin blade used for cutting and fitted with a handle. The knife can be used as a tool or a weapon.
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A scythe (IPA: /ˈsaɪğ/, most likely from Old English siğe, sigği) is an agricultural hand tool for mowing and reaping grass or crops. Commonly used in Japan and China.
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sickle is a curved, hand-held agricultural tool typically used for harvesting grain crop. The inside of the curve is sharp, so that the user can swing the blade against the base of the crop, catching it in the curve and slicing it at the same time.
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A hammer is a tool meant to deliver blows to an object. The most common uses are for driving nails, fitting parts, and breaking up objects. Hammers are often designed for a specific purpose, and vary widely in their shape and structure.
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splitting maul (or mall) is a heavy, long-handled hammer used for splitting a piece of wood along its grain. One side of it is identical to a sledge hammer and the other side is an axe.
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screwdriver is a device specifically designed to insert and tighten, or to loosen and remove, screws. The screwdriver comprises a head or tip which engages with a screw, a mechanism to apply torque by rotating the tip, and some way to position and support the screwdriver.
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The word whip describes two basic types of tools:

A long stick-like device, usually slightly flexible, with a small bit of leather or cord, called a "popper", on the end. Depending on length and flexibility, this type is often called a riding whip, riding crop or "bat".
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writing implement or writing instrument is an object used to produce writing. Most can be used for other functions, such as painting, drawing and technical drawing. One of the critical characteristics of a writing implement is the ability to produce a smooth, controllable
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set square or triangle (American English) is an object used in technical drawing, with the aim of providing a straightedge at a particular planar angle to a baseline.
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For the subculture, see Straight edge.


A straightedge is a tool similar to a ruler, but without markings.

Compass-and-straightedge construction

Main article: Compass and straightedge

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Pliers are hand tools, designed primarily for gripping objects by using leverage. Pliers are designed for numerous purposes and require different jaw configurations to grip, turn, pull, or crimp a variety of things. They are a tool common to many dexterous trades and occupations.
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A glove (Middle English from Old English glof) is a type of garment (and more specifically a fashion accessory) which covers the hand of a human. Gloves have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb; if there is an opening but no covering sheath
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