Adrian Jadic wrote:
> BHP could also mean "boiler horse power"
BHP (or bhp) is definitely brake horsepower.
In Britain, until some time in the 1950s, cars were rated in horsepower, a
statutory measure, with 1 hp arbitrarily corresponding to 0.1 L (or, as it
was known then, 100 cc) of engine capacity. Thus, a 1 L car was said to have
10 horsepower. It was meaningless (other than for road tax purposes), of
course, as the actual power output could vary widely, depending on engine
design.
The term "brake horsepower" (bhp) was a more meaningful term, adopted later,
based on measurement of engine power against a simulated load (using
friction -- hence "brake"). I think U.S. car makers have always used brake
horsepower (known, in the U.S. and Canada, simply as horsepower), because it
yields a bigger number and is more impressive. To make their figures even
more impressive, they measured it at the crankshaft, rather than at the axle
(a practice I think they have since discontinued).
As Joe has pointed out (although with excessive precision), 1 bhp = 750 W
(approximately).
I'm not sure where Jim gets his "braking" horsepower. That's a new one for
me.
Bill Potts, CMS
San Jose, CA
http://metric1.org [SI Navigator]
