[janus]

Originally Posted by chevy302builder18

that is true but what about rotating assembly? Wouldnt that turn into energy spinning in place? I mean fifty ft. Pounds of energy on top of each cylinder turning alot of wieght below, doesnt that make any energy?

you're about halfway there, it would make torque it's just a force applied to a lever of a fixed shaft. thereby a mass of fifty pounds on top of one cylinder with a lever of say 1 foot would result in a rotational force or torque of 50 lbft at the shaft.
btw, we've digressed from the topic of gear ratios quite far now