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I disagree: http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/03/history-of-human-powered-cranes.html http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/03/history-of-human-powe... > "Ther
by ken 7y ago
I disagree: http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/03/history-of-human-powered-cranes.html http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/03/history-of-human-powe...
> "There is no limit to the weight that humans can lift by sheer muscle power. Nor is there a limit to the height to which this weight can be lifted. The only advantage that [powered] cranes have brought us is a higher lifting speed."
We moved to engines because they were cheaper, not because we were anywhere near the limits of muscle power.
- WalterBright 7y agoThe history of the industrial revolution since the advent of the steam engine amply makes my point.
- ken 7y agoJust because history played out one way doesn’t mean it could only have played out that way.
- WalterBright 7y agoIt played out that way in every country that adopted the steam engine, and failed to happen at all in countries that did not. As I say, the historical evidence is as compelling as it gets.
- SamReidHughes 7y agoThe reason they have a higher lifting speed is because they have more power. In a directly proportionate sense. Lifting speed is literally power divided by weight.