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Nowadays, every vehicle’s power is measured in horsepower, which is a strange name that most of us wondered where it came from.
Buying a car with 300 horsepower what does it mean? Is it a literal translation that compares the car with 300 horses?
Does it have to do with how fast can a horse run and then multiply and divide that by the top speed of the car?
Well, this inspired us to do some digging and find out why Horsepower has this name.
Let’s find out.
The Birth of the Term “Horsepower”
To understand why we call it “horsepower,” we need to rewind to the 18th century. In the midst of the industrial revolution, the steam engine was becoming a game-changer, revolutionizing transportation and industry.
The short answer is, yes! Horsepower comes from comparing modern-day engines to horses!
It was Scottish engineer James Watt who played a key role in this technological advancement.
James Watt, the father of the modern steam engine, wanted to find a way to market his improved engine to potential buyers.
At the time, horses were widely used as a primary source of power for pulling carts, and plowing fields, and people used to wait eagerly for the next major horse race in the vicinity. To help people grasp the engine’s power in relatable terms, Watt needed a familiar reference point. And that’s when he had a brilliant idea – horses!
This will not only give the people an idea of how fast the engine is going but also give them something to compare it to.
Defining the “Horsepower” Unit
In 1782, James Watt introduced the term “horsepower” as a unit of measurement for the rate of work that his steam engine could perform.
He defined one horsepower as the equivalent of 33,000 foot-pounds of work done in one minute. This meant that his engine could perform work at a rate comparable to 33,000 pounds lifted to a height of one foot in one minute – the same as what a strong horse could do.
The concept of horsepower quickly caught on, and it became a universally understood unit of measurement for engines’ power. It allowed potential buyers to grasp the capabilities of these new steam engines easily, making them more marketable and widely adopted in various industries.
Horsepower Today
Now even though we have modern technology that is well-past steam engines, such as electric cars or petrol, it seems like the term horsepower as a unit of measure is well embedded in the vehicle industry.
Despite the advancements in technology and the transition to internal combustion engines, the term “horsepower” has remained a standard unit for measuring engine power to this day. It has become ingrained in our language and culture, transcending time and technology.
With that said, it is worth noting that 1 horsepower doesn’t equal the output that a horse is capable of creating. In fact, horses can have a max output of 15 horsepower, and the maximum output of humans is a little more than 1 horsepower.
Nowadays, the term doesn’t make sense since most of us don’t have an idea of how fast a horse is, except the ones we watch in popular races like the Kentucky Derby.
With that said, the term horsepower has been used for hundreds of years, and it is really difficult to make a new term since it is already embedded into the roots of vehicles.
However, nowadays we have more than just horsepower. Vehicles have different measurements of their power such as torque, RPM, kW, and more.
⏩Read More: This 2000-HP Armortruck 4×4 SUV is ready for any Apocalypse
Final Words
So, there you have it. If you wondered whether or not the term ‘horsepower’ is an actual comparison between modern-day engines and horses, the answer is yes!
It is a brilliant idea that made sense at that time, and it is stuck in the moto-industry for quite some time.
This means that when you buy your next 500HP car, it is equivalent to 33 horses dragging you in a chariot.
