Machines

[tw]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

That electric clock motor won't provide enough torque to overcome the frictional loss in all the gears

You have assumed conventional gears.

And have totally ignored the point. Same torque can be provided by all sorts of horsepower - high and low. Irrelevant is torque when speed also matters. Only increased horsepower means sufficient speed at that torque. Only horsepower matters. Even a 2 liter four cylinder engine can provide the same torque. But does not have speed.

Obviously that torque myth is popular among many who forget that simple formula taught in school science.

Torque is obviously irrelevant if enough horsepower does not exist to provide minimal speed. Only horsepower matters.

Why do eighteen wheelers with 350 horsepower engines have enough torque for 60,000 pounds? Many gears. Which eighteen wheelers get up to speed faster? Those with 500 horsepower engines. Both have same torque. More horsepower means better speed (and acceleration).

Horsepower is the relevant number.

How did Shell create a 100 MPG car in the 1950s? A two horsepower engine had plenty of torque - and not much speed. Simple multiplication.