Figure 8.

Geometric model illustrating the principle of orthogonal amplification. (A) Consider a square rhombus with strings for sides, hinges at the top and bottom corners, and pulleys at the right and left corners. The pulleys are maintained 24 units apart. Pulling the strings through the pulleys shortens each side by four units and pulls the upper and lower corners toward the horizontal axis by 7 units. (B) Further shortening the sides by only one unit is amplified into a five-unit vertical movement of the corners, compressing the rhombus into a line on the axis. Whereas the upper and lower corners move only vertically, points midway on the sides move vertically and horizontally. However, vertical movements dominate, and the direction of movement approaches pure vertical with progress toward the axis. (C) When four units are placed in parallel, the amplification is increased fourfold.