Force  =  kg.m/s^2 =  N (newton)
Energy, work, quantity of heat  =  N.m  =  J (Joule)
Power, heat flow rate  =  J/s  =  W (watt)

Just thought you'd like to know the SI.

Stan Doore


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Hooper" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2004 11:46 AM
Subject: [USMA:29746] Re: power, thrust and force


> On 2004 May 11 , at 12:18 AM, J. Ward wrote:
> 
> > If the force of thrust is in newtons, and the speed is in m/s, then 
> > the power
> > in watts is simply
> > Power = Force * Speed.
> >
> 
> While you equation is undoubtably correct, you have overlooked an 
> important point. The force must be acting on the object which is moving 
> at the speed. That will give the power of produced (or expended) by 
> that object. Since the original question, I believe, asked about the 
> thrust of the propellor on the air (equivalent to the thrust of the air 
> that pushes the plane) and the power output of the engine, the above 
> equation could not be used (not directly anyway).
> 
> In a plane, one has to be concerned with the power generated by the 
> engine and the power expended by the propellor against the air. It is 
> the power of the propellor against the air which you get if you 
> multiply the thrust (force) of the propellor against the air times the 
> speed of the propellor through the air*. That power may not be the same 
> as the power generated by the engine.
> 
> The power output of the engine would be the force of engine against the 
> shaft of the propellor multiplied times the speed of the propellor 
> shaft. (Since this is a rotational situation, the appropriate variation 
> of the above equation would be: power equals the "rotational force" 
> (called the torque, in newton-metres in SI) multiplied by the 
> rotational speed of the shaft (the angular speed, or angle turned per 
> unit time, measured in radians per second in SI).
> 
> 
> Regards,
> Bill Hooper
> Fernandina Beach, Florida, USA
> 
> *PS
>   I may not have been completely correct above when I referred to the 
> speed of the propellor through the air. The air arrives at the 
> propellor with one speed (the speed of the plane) and leaves with a 
> different speed, because it has been pushed toward the rear by the 
> propellor. This change in speed of the air as it goes past the 
> propellor would have to be taken into account  for my description above 
> to be accurate.
> 
> The science is easy; the engineering is where it gets difficult ... as 
> always.  :-)
> 
> ========================
>   SIMPLIFICATION begins with SI
> ========================
> 

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