Moving heavy objects is one of those tasks where brute strength alone isn’t always the best approach. Professional movers know this all too well. They rely on physics—leveraging science to turn back-breaking work into something manageable and precise. The next time you watch movers seemingly glide a piano or refrigerator out of a house without smashing through the walls, remember: it’s not magic, it’s physics.
Leverage
One of the oldest tricks in the book, leverage, is basically nature’s cheat code for moving heavy objects. The idea is simple: by applying force over a longer distance, you need less effort to move something hefty. It’s like trading a push-up contest for a see-saw ride—just a lot more effective.
Movers like experiamoving.com/movers-long-island-city use simple tools like crowbars, dollies, and ramps to maximize leverage. A dolly, for example, turns the act of lifting into rolling, reducing the need to pick up weight entirely. Instead of directly lifting, movers use the wheels and a long handle to create a mechanical advantage. It’s why even a small-framed mover can easily tilt back a 300-pound fridge and wheel it out the door.
Similarly, ramps are another form of leverage in action. By using a long inclined plane (that’s a fancy term for a ramp), movers can roll objects into trucks rather than trying to lift them straight up. The longer the ramp, the less force needed to push heavy items up it. Just think about walking up a gently sloped hill versus scaling a steep cliff. It’s all about easing the load by increasing distance.
Friction Reduction
The real enemy when you’re trying to move heavy stuff isn’t always weight—it’s friction. Ever tried sliding a sofa across a carpet only to find it barely budges? That’s friction at work, stubbornly resisting your efforts and making the whole thing a lot harder than it should be.
To combat this, moving companies use physics to reduce friction as much as possible. Furniture sliders, for instance, are one of the unsung heroes of moving day. Made of smooth plastic or felt, they go under furniture legs and reduce the friction between the object and the floor. Instead of scraping across, your heavy couch glides effortlessly—well, more effortlessly than it would without sliders. These tools are especially useful when moving items across floors you don’t want to scratch up.
On top of that, dollies and hand trucks with wheels help minimize the friction involved in getting a large object from one place to another. Wheels are crucial because they turn sliding friction into rolling friction. Rolling friction is significantly lower than sliding friction, which is why it’s easier to roll something on wheels than to drag it. Less friction equals less effort, and that’s why movers can load and unload heavy objects efficiently.
Momentum
Once movers get a heavy object in motion, momentum becomes their best friend. The science of momentum can be summed up in one key concept: an object in motion tends to stay in motion (thanks, Sir Isaac Newton). So when movers push or pull something heavy, they aim to keep it moving smoothly, avoiding abrupt starts and stops.
A rolling refrigerator on a dolly, for instance, takes some effort to get moving, but once it’s rolling, much less force is needed to keep it moving. But here’s the flip side: all that mass in motion can become a problem if you’re not careful, like when you’re trying to slow down or stop. That’s why movers make sure they’re always in control of the object’s speed and direction, carefully guiding it rather than letting it build up too much momentum.
This principle also comes into play when packing trucks. Movers load heavier items at the base and lighter items on top, ensuring that the center of mass is low and stable. This prevents objects from shifting while in transit, where sudden stops or sharp turns could send a poorly packed load flying. With a low center of gravity, movers avoid the domino effect of crashing boxes and toppled furniture, which can cause damage.
Gravity
Gravity is a mover’s constant companion—sometimes helpful, sometimes a menace. On one hand, it’s what movers use to their advantage when descending stairs or lowering objects onto trucks. By using gravity, they can control the descent of heavy items rather than having to forcefully lower them.
However, gravity also means that without careful handling, things can quickly go wrong. Dropping a washing machine, even from a few feet, can cause major damage both to the item and the surrounding environment. This is why movers always use straps, harnesses, or pulleys when moving large objects down flights of stairs or from high places. Pulleys, in particular, distribute weight over a longer path, making it possible to lift or lower extremely heavy items with precision and control.
While it may seem like movers are just big, strong individuals hauling boxes and couches, the truth is they are more like everyday physicists. They apply the laws of physics—using leverage, reducing friction, managing momentum, and controlling gravity—to make moving heavy objects look easy. The next time you’re amazed by how smoothly a mover glides a refrigerator out the door, remember: it’s all in the science.