Torque

Figure 1: Perpendicular Force Creates Torque. The less the force on the wrench is perpendicular to the wrench, the smaller the torque.

Torque is the tendency of a force to cause a rotational movement. It is measured in newton meters in the SI system, and pound-feet in the Imperial system.

Torque is an important measurement to consider when buying a car, as the amount of torque an engine has directly relates to how fast it can accelerate. Engines that create their torque at lower RPMs tend to be more fuel efficient at these lower RPMs.

Torque is also given by the equation: $\overrightarrow{\tau }=\overrightarrow{r}\times \overrightarrow{F}$. It can be seen that there is a cross product showing that torque is perpendicular to both the force and the position vector. This means that only the perpendicular force contributes to creating torque. See Figure 1 for a visual representation of this.

For Further Reading

• Gyroscopic Motion
• Force
• Milinkovic Cycles
• Or explore a random page!

For more information on torque please see here.