Daily Almanac for
Feb 11, 2012
Search: Infoplease Info search tips
Search: Biographies Bio search tips
| Share
 
Encyclopedia

horsepower

horsepower, unit of power in the English system of units. It is equal to 33,000 foot-pounds per minute or 550 foot-pounds per second or approximately 746 watts. The term horsepower originated with James Watt, who determined by experiment that a horse could do 33,000 foot-pounds of work a minute in drawing coal from a coal pit.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

    • Cite
    • Print
    • Bookmark

More on horsepower from Infoplease:

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Physics


A free, reliable Q&A site for homework help. Answerplease.com

24 X 7

Private Tutor

Click Here for Details
24 x 7 Tutor Availability
Unlimited Online Tutoring
1-on-1 Tutoring