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Concept
Wheel
Summary
A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be moved easily facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Wheels are also used for other purposes, such as a ship's wheel, steering wheel, potter's wheel, and flywheel.
Common examples can be found in transport applications. A wheel reduces friction by facilitating motion by rolling together with the use of axles. In order for wheels to rotate, a moment needs to be applied to the wheel about its axis, either by way of gravity or by the application of another external force or torque. Using the wheel, Sumerians invented a device that spins clay as a potter shapes it into the desired object.
The English word wheel comes from the Old English word hwēol, from Proto-Germanic *hwehwlaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kwékwlos, an extended form of the root *kwel- "to revolve, move around".
Cognates within Indo-European include Icelandic hjól "wheel, tyre", Greek κύκλος kúklos, and Sanskrit chakra, the last two both meaning "circle" or "wheel".
The place and time of the invention of the wheel remains unclear, because the oldest hints do not guarantee the existence of real wheeled transport, or are dated with too much scatter. Mesopotamian civilization is credited with the invention of the wheel by old sources. However, according to some recent sources the wheel was not invented in Mesopotamia first, they suggest it was invented in Eastern Europe first or that it was invented independently in both Mesopotamia and Eastern Europe and unlike other breakthrough inventions, the wheel cannot be attributed to a single nor several inventors. Evidence of early usage of wheeled carts has been found across the Middle East, in Europe, Eastern Europe, India and China. It is not known whether Chinese, Indians, Europeans and even Sumerians invented the wheel independently or not.
Official source
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