The term "horsepower" was created by James Watt, an engineer
who lived from 1736-1819, famous for his work on improving the performance
of steam engines.
Watt was working
with ponies lifting coal out of a coal mine, and he decided to come
up with a measurement that would describe the amount of power that one
animal could pull.
He found that an average mine pony could do 22,000 foot-pounds of work
a minute. He then increased it by 50% and called that one horsepower:
33,000 foot-pounds of work in one minute.
Basically, a horsepower
means this: According to Watt a horse can do 33,000 foot-pounds of work
every minute. A horse pulling coal out of a mine, exerting 1 horsepower,
will raise 330 pounds of coal 100 feet in one minute, or 33 pounds of
coal 1,000 feet in one minute.
Fun fact: A horse
producing 1 horsepower would burn 641 calories in an hour if it were
100% efficient.
Today we see the
horsepower measurement used in vehicles, lawn mowers, chainsaws, and
other motors. It's another example of how the horse has influenced our
way of life.
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