How does an elevator work?

Can you imagine how life would be different without elevators? The invention of passenger-safe elevators allowed people to live and work in buildings that were more than four or five stories tall! Without elevators, tall buildings would not be practical and many cities would have had to spread outward instead of upward! (After all, who wants to climb 35 flights of stairs?!)

For many years, elevators were used only to transport freight items and not people – if the ropes lifting an elevator’s platform broke, there was initially no safety device to catch the falling car, making it unsafe for people to use. Then, in 1853, Elisha Graves Otis invented a safety system that would catch the elevator if its ropes were to break, preventing it from falling and making it safe for people to ride in!

Many elevators, especially today, work based on a pulley system, where a strong rope (often made from steel) attaches to the elevator car and runs up over a pulley or a set of pulleys, allowing the car to be raised and lowered. A counterweight on the opposite side of the pulley helps maintain the balance of the elevator’s weight! The buttons inside of modern elevators are part of a control system that tells the elevator which floors to stop on, and when to open and close the doors! 

When you’re in an elevator, remember to only push the button for the floor that you need, otherwise the elevator will accidentally stop on too many floors!

While many things about elevators have stayed the same over time, certain things about them have changed, too!

Have you ever been in an older building with an older elevator? Before elevators had buttons linked to control systems, elevators needed people whose job was to operate the elevator, telling it where and when to start and stop! Have you ever been in an elevator that is operated like this? Or maybe you’ve been in an elevator where the doors don’t open and close on their own, and you have to do it manually! 

Can you think of any new inventions or advancements that might become common in elevators in the future? One good example would be that some elevators have screens that tell you about the weather or the news!