Why Engines are Commonly Measured in Horsepower

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We owe the “horsepower” unit of engine power measurement to Scottish engineer James Watt.
In the early 1780s, after making a vastly superior steam engine to the then classic Newcomen steam engine, Watt was looking for a way to market his invention, advertising the fact that his engine used about 75% less fuel than a similarly powered Newcomen, among many other improvements.

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[TodayIFoundOut]

Speaking of horses check out this video and find out the answer to the question- Do Mounted Police Officers Have to Clean Up Their Horse’s Poop?:

[SIMKINETICS]

American engineers, like me, specify power output in both Imperial units (horsepower) and Metric units (watts). Power is work or energy transmitted per unit time; one horsepower is defined as the work required to lift 550 lbs to a height of one foot in one second, which is equal to 745.7 watts (metric). For rotating power (the most common), power is calculated by multiplying torque by angular velocity, so for any given power level, torque & rpm are inversely proportional so that higher rpm means lower torque. Bicyclists can produce pedaling torque equivalent to some typical automobile engines, but they do it at much lower rpm so their power output is only a fraction of the IC engine or automotive electric motor operating at typical driving rpm.

[Sithlord]

1:46 - "he made sure his product would always overdeliver"

The exact opposite in today's marketing...
You have to expect a product to underdeliver or you will be disappointed...

[SlyPearTree]

A marketing term that is actually useful and precisely defined? Did pigs fly during that period?

[milksheihk]

I'd always heard that Horsepower was equivalent to the lifting power of a team of four pit horses(used in coal mines, to winch the mining carts up & down) on a windlass. To make things more confusing a single real horse is capable of 16 horse power in short bursts.

[alexg]

Now THAT is something I have wanted to know in all my years! Good info! Thx

[DangerAngelous]

God a Simon Whistler video so old he wasn’t even a physical body

[Flyingsangwich]

im just wondering how it felt in the 1700s when you have 50 horses pulling your 1 carriage... that butt dyno

[Bigbuddyandblue]

"Who came up with the measurement of horsepower?"

Watt.

"I said, who came up with the measurement horsepower?"

WATT!!

"What?"

Yes.

"Yes what?"

Yes, Watt.

"What?"

Yes...

[scottmitchell]

horsepower was first described by an accountant as two horses walking in a circle twenty feet in diameter doing x revolution.. it's nothing but an accountant term

[BrianH]

Man, I actually knew this useless information.  Learned it in School.  Wow, school really does teach useless information.

[chrisrobertson]

Bhp...sae...doc .tr...or the famous vm. Horsepowernumbet if you make it too 1000. Ohhhh the magic Dyno triples that Lol....

[davidliddelow]

Watt actually way under estimated how much power a horse can output. If you look at an actual 1 hp motor they are tiny, about the size of your fist. Watt got away with this by never selling small engines. The smallest one he sold was 150 hp, equivalent to 10 actual horses.

[kelpking]

Darn my car has as much power as 180 horses

[FatGuyWithAKatana]

so my car can do 9, 720, 000 foot pounds of work in 60 seconds? cool

[Jimpozcan]

Why Engines are Commonly Measured in Horsepower

because the US is still stuck in the Dark Ages whilst the rest of the World has moved on to the metric system

[vladi]

a human pedaling a bike, 3 horse power. a horse not even one. I call this Bullshit