A member of this list used the word "horsepower" in a recent message and (in a private note) I kidded him about it. I suggested he should have said kilowatts. I think people use "horse power" because it contains the word "power". They are simple trying to say "power" with the emphasis that the added word "horse" seems to give it, but not using it as a unit. So perhaps we need to coin the phrase "kilowatt power" (or "megawatt power" or giga, etc.). We could use it simply to say power but especially when we want to emphasize great power. Maybe it would have more "ring to it" than just "power". It's not necessary, of course, except to provide something to replace "horsepower" when used in the general sense to mean just power. Examples: ========= Boy that car has a lot of kilowatt power! There's a lot of kilowatt power behind that. I need a lot more kilowatt power to get this going. Do you think this has enough kilowatt power to do the job? ========= (Looking back at the above examples, I do think replacing them all with "megawatt power" would be better. Of course, in the technical sense. the simple word "power" would be correct in all those examples.) Regards, Bill Hooper Fernandina Beach, Florida, USA ========================== SImplification Begins With SI. ========================== |
