Editing Machine (section)

{{short description|Powered mechanical device}}
{{About|devices designed to perform tasks}}
{{Redirect|Machinery}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
[[File:Láng Gépgyár, 1977 Fortepan 89049.jpg|thumb|Assorted worker-operated machinery at the [[Láng Machine Factory]] in [[Budapest]], Hungary in 1977]]
A '''machine''' is a physical system that uses [[Power (physics)|power]] to apply [[force]]s and control [[Motion|movement]] to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing [[engine]]s or motors, but also to natural biological macromolecules, such as [[molecular machine]]s. Machines can be driven by [[Animal power|animals]] and [[Human power|people]], by natural forces such as [[Wind power|wind]] and [[Water power|water]], and by [[Chemical energy|chemical]], [[Thermal energy|thermal]], or [[electricity|electrical]] power, and include a system of [[mechanism (engineering)|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 system]]s.

Renaissance natural philosophers identified six [[simple machine]]s 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]].<ref name="Usher">{{cite book
 |last        = Usher
 |first       = Abbott Payson
 |title       = A History of Mechanical Inventions
 |publisher   = Courier Dover Publications
 |year        = 1988
 |location    = USA
 |pages       = 98
 |url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=xuDDqqa8FlwC&pg=PA196
 |isbn        = 978-0-486-25593-4
 |url-status     = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160818135506/https://books.google.com/books?id=xuDDqqa8FlwC&pg=PA196
|archive-date = 2016-08-18
}}</ref>

Modern machines are complex systems that consist of structural elements, [[Mechanism (engineering)|mechanisms]] and control components and include interfaces for convenient use. Examples include: a wide range of [[vehicle]]s, such as [[train]]s, [[Car|automobiles]], [[boat]]s and [[airplane]]s; [[Home appliance|appliances]] in the home and office, including computers, building [[air handler|air handling]] and [[Plumbing|water handling systems]]; as well as [[Agricultural machinery|farm machinery]], [[machine tool]]s and [[Automation|factory automation]] systems and [[robot]]s.