What Do Horsepower, Torque, and Power Represent?
1 Answers
Horsepower is a commonly used unit of power measurement in engineering. Torque is the force that causes an object to rotate. Power refers to the amount of work done by an object per unit of time, meaning power is a physical quantity that describes how fast work is done. The relationship between horsepower, torque, and power: Horsepower and power can be converted into each other. Both horsepower and power indicate how much work an engine can perform per unit of time. An engine with higher power has stronger performance but also higher fuel consumption. Power is an important performance parameter of an engine. Torque refers to the moment that the engine crankshaft can output, which is the force that makes the crankshaft rotate, hence also called torque. An engine with higher torque also has higher power. Power is directly proportional to both speed and torque. An engine with higher speed also has higher power because it performs more work cycles per unit of time. Horsepower, torque, and power each determine a specific factor of a vehicle: Power determines the maximum speed a vehicle can achieve; torque determines how quickly a vehicle can accelerate. However, when torque alone cannot increase speed, power is needed to enhance it. Therefore, power and torque complement each other.
