<HTML>Let me see if I can put it into english...
If I exert one footpound of force on a one pound object, I can lift it one foot.
If, through a gearing mechanism, I can apply less force and achieve less height, it becomes possible for me to work longer, but still get the object to be raised one foot.
in a 4:1 ratio, we are looking at four times the TIME to achieve the same goal with 1/4 the force being applied.
Gearing mechanisms allow us to spread the work out over TIME by decreasing the increments in which we lift.
Does that make sense?
Anthony</HTML>