How much horsepower does one horse have

When horsepower is mentioned in the specifications of a car, it is not entirely clear how this is measured, because in some countries the power of one horsepower is different from the European one.

The history of the appearance of the unit of measure

Until about the middle of the 18th century, horses were used to perform hard work. With the advent of the steam engine, animals began to be replaced by machines, since they are capable of doing more. Many were skeptical about innovations. This was noticed by the inventor James Watt. To help society embrace technology, he decided to compare the performance of machines to what people are accustomed to. It worked because they now talked about engine performance in a language the workers could understand. The term stuck and is still used today.

How are horsepower and watts related?

In the International Metric SI system and in Russia, one horsepower corresponds to 735,499 watts. That is, this is the equivalent of power at which it is possible to evenly lift a load weighing 75 kg at a speed of 1 m / s.

There are several types of horsepower:

• mechanical (745,699 watts, used in the UK and USA);
• metric (735,499 W);
• electric (746 W).

Due to the slight difference in values, horsepower from Europe is not the same as in the US (1 hp in the US equals 1.0138 hp from Europe). Therefore, speaking about the power of the car, the number of "horses" of the same instance will be slightly different in different parts of the world.

How much power does one horse develop?

When they say that a car has 106 horsepower, many people think that this is the same if you take a herd of the same number of animals. In fact, the horse gives out more power. For a short time, they can produce up to 15, and some especially strong representatives, up to 200 technical horsepower.

Why Horse Power Doesn't Match Horsepower

Before the invention of the steam engine, barrels were lifted from mines with a rope slung over a block and tied to a pair of horses. Barrels were used from 140 to 190 liters. Watt calculated that each barrel weighed about 180 kg, and a pair of horses could pull it at a speed of about 2 miles per hour. Having made the calculations, the inventor received the very value that is still used today.

The horse that Watt used in his calculations was heavily averaged. So comparing the power of cars with real horses is not worth it.

Therefore, the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) classifies this unit as one that "should be withdrawn from circulation as soon as possible where they are currently in use, and which should not be introduced if they are not in use."

In Russia, the tax rate depends on the amount of horsepower. Despite this, the basis is still the energy of the engine in kilowatts. To convert to horsepower, this value is multiplied by 1,35962 (conversion factor).