Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesqf
That's wrong, because torque is an angular quantity. It's the product of a force applied times the distance from the axis at which it's applied. (Think of a torque wrench.) And of course pounds and feet are just English units: in metric it'd be measured in newton-meters.
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Exactly right. If I hung my 185lb body from a lever that is attached parallel to the ground at a distance of 1ft from the fulcrum, I impart 185ft/lbs of force. Whether anything moves is irrelevant.
Automotive texts refer to torque when tightening various bolts. Tightening a lug nut to 75ft/lbs means to turn until that much resistive force is encountered. It says nothing of what distance to turn.