What is horsepower as a unit?
1 Answers
Horsepower is a unit of engine power, representing the engine's ability to perform work per unit of time, generally referring to metric horsepower rather than imperial horsepower. Horsepower is a unit used to measure the performance of a car engine and is also an important parameter for evaluating a vehicle's overall performance. Simply put, the greater the horsepower, the more energy the engine can release in the same amount of time. A car's horsepower is generally related to its displacement and compression ratio. The larger the volume of gas expelled per engine rotation, the more fuel it consumes and the higher the horsepower. According to the ideal gas law, a higher compression ratio leads to greater horsepower, but it also requires the use of gasoline with better anti-knock properties, i.e., higher-octane fuel.