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Torque has the dimension of force times distance, symbolically T −2 L 2 M and those fundamental dimensions are the same as that for energy or work. Official SI literature indicates newton-metre, is properly denoted N⋅m, as the unit for torque; although this is dimensionally equivalent to the joule, which is not used for torque.
Both energy and torque can be expressed as a product of a force vector with a displacement vector (hence pounds and feet); energy is the scalar product of the two, and torque is the vector product. Although calling the torque unit "pound-foot" has been academically suggested, both are still commonly called "foot-pound" in colloquial usage.
By contrast, torque is a vector – the cross product of a force vector and a distance vector. Torque and energy are related to one another by the equation [citation needed] =, where E is energy, τ is (the vector magnitude of) torque, and θ is the angle swept (in radians). Since plane angles are dimensionless, it follows that torque and ...
Torque is a pretty easy measurement to understand once it's explained, but horsepower can be a trickier beast. We lay out the meaning of the two ratings.
The newton-metre or newton-meter (also non-hyphenated, newton metre or newton meter; symbol N⋅m [1] or N m [1]) [a] is the unit of torque (also called moment) in the International System of Units (SI). One newton-metre is equal to the torque resulting from a force of one newton applied perpendicularly to the end of a moment arm that is one ...
Energy is defined via work, so the SI unit of energy is the same as the unit of work – the joule (J), named in honour of James Prescott Joule [1] and his experiments on the mechanical equivalent of heat. In slightly more fundamental terms, 1 joule is equal to 1 newton metre and, in terms of SI base units
Despite this, in practice torque units are commonly called the foot-pound (denoted as either lb-ft or ft-lb) or the inch-pound (denoted as in-lb). [4] [5] Practitioners depend on context and the hyphenated abbreviations to know that these refer to neither energy nor moment of mass (as the symbol ft-lb rather than lbf-ft would imply).
The SI unit of power, defined as energy per unit of time, is the watt, which is a joule per second. Thus, one joule is one watt-second, and 3600 joules equal one watt-hour. The CGS energy unit is the erg and the imperial and US customary unit is the foot pound.