>> DOES TORQUE CAUSE ACCELERATION? <<

I have noticed many times that torque is the element that is credited to how fast a
car accelerates. There is no doubt that it is a great contributor to a car's
acceleration, but it is not the primary factor that causes it. Take for instance, some
heavy equipment vehicles produce thousands of pound-feet of torque, but they do
not accelerate very fast. This is because there has to be enough effort applied in
proportion to the car's weight in order for it to have a faster acceleration. See,
torque is a function of two variables. These variables are force (which is defined as a
push or pull on an object), and distance (the distance the force is applied from its
point of rotation).  Newton's second law of motion says that force is equal to the
mass of an object (or car in this case) times its acceleration. The car's mass is equal
to the car's weight divided by the acceleration due to gravity (g). From Newton's law,
in order for a car to accelerate, there has to be a force to cause the acceleration.
Now back to torque. Since torque is a function of force and distance, then torque
alone does not cause the acceleration. Now you see, it is the force component of the
torque that causes the car to accelerate. In other words this force is applied by the
tires on the road causing the car to accelerate.

Vincent
Argentina; Austria; Australia; Aruba; Barbados; Belgium; Bermuda; Brazil; Bahamas; Canada; Cayman Islands; Chile; China; Costa Rica;
Cyprus; Denmark; Egypt; Finland; Fiji; France; France, Metropolitan; Germany; Greece; Greenland; Guam; Guatemala; Hong Kong;
Iceland; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Jamaica; Japan; Korea, Republic of; Kuwait; Luxembourg; Macau; Malawi; Mexico; Monaco; New Caledonia;
Netherlands; Netherlands Antilles; New Zealand; Norfolk Island; Norway; Panama; Peru; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Poland; Puerto
Rico; Portugal; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; South Africa; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Taiwan; Thailand; Turkey; Trinidad and Tobago;
United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; United States; US Minor Outlying Islands; Venezuela; Virgin Islands (U.S.)
Copyright © Robinson Publishing, 2014
obinson                                                                                                                                                             Real
ublishing                                                                                                                                                     Performance
R
P