> The force required per lever should be easy to work out, assuming, as you say, that the levers can withstand the shearing forces involved.
Yes, it's not difficult to work out, but the mechanical advantage (pivot ratio) of the levers is the main criterion. You can reduce the height of the lift if you need to lift a larger weight per lever, or vice versa.
> A workforce of 40-50 has been mentioned, more hands on the levers increases that figure. Even with 2 feet between levers, that`s not much room to manoeuvre.
No it's 40-50 tops, including the tower builders. If we put two men per lever we halve the number of levers, not double the men. 2 feet per lever is OK since everyone moves in unison. It just gets very cosy, so we all have to remember use our underarm deoderants that morning.
> The BBC used 130 people to pull an upright up a 1-in-20 gradient. To halve that figure would be a substantial achievement.
So how impressive would it be to use less than a third? ;-)
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