Why does farming equipment require such low horsepower compared to your average car?
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I remember learning in Classical Physics in college that the horsepower to drive a car on a flat surface was directly proportional to the drag of the vehicle as well as the cube of the speed.
Therefore, if it took say 30hp to drive a minivan down the interstate at 50mph to then triple the speed to 150mph would require (150mph/50mph) * * 3 times more horsepower or… 3 * * 3. 3 cubed is (3 * 3 * 3=)27 times more horsepower. 30 x 27 = 810hp. No stock minivan has 810 hp so no stock minivan can reach 150mph.
A Ferrari, however, might have half the drag of the minivan and would require only 15hp to drive down the interstate at 50mph. 15 x 27 = 405hp, so only 405hp would be required for the Ferrari to maintain 150mph, which many Ferraris can produce.
I remember learning in Classical Physics in college that the horsepower to drive a car on a flat surface was directly proportional to the drag of the vehicle as well as the cube of the speed.
Therefore, if it took say 30hp to drive a minivan down the interstate at 50mph to then triple the speed to 150mph would require (150mph/50mph) * * 3 times more horsepower or… 3 * * 3. 3 cubed is (3 * 3 * 3=)27 times more horsepower. 30 x 27 = 810hp. No stock minivan has 810 hp so no stock minivan can reach 150mph.
A Ferrari, however, might have half the drag of the minivan and would require only 15hp to drive down the interstate at 50mph. 15 x 27 = 405hp, so only 405hp would be required for the Ferrari to maintain 150mph, which many Ferraris can produce.
If you want to move something from A to B you do work: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_(physics)
Now the question is how fast you want to do this, so work over time, this is power: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_(physics)
So even though a car and a tractor might do the same work (going from A to B), a car does it much faster thus requiring more power.
So in simple terms: Going up 100 stairs slow and steady is not very exhausting but sprinting them as quick as you can leaves you exhausted and panting for air even though you ended up reaching the exact same goal.
If you want to move something from A to B you do work: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_(physics)
Now the question is how fast you want to do this, so work over time, this is power: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_(physics)
So even though a car and a tractor might do the same work (going from A to B), a car does it much faster thus requiring more power.
So in simple terms: Going up 100 stairs slow and steady is not very exhausting but sprinting them as quick as you can leaves you exhausted and panting for air even though you ended up reaching the exact same goal.
Because cars are **ridiculously** overpowered. As anyone who’s owned an old VW can tell you, 40-50 horsepower is enough to get you anywhere you need to go at highway speeds. Old VWs are not particularly lightweight, either.
Horsepower beyond about 50 exists for entertainment purposes.
Because cars are **ridiculously** overpowered. As anyone who’s owned an old VW can tell you, 40-50 horsepower is enough to get you anywhere you need to go at highway speeds. Old VWs are not particularly lightweight, either.
Horsepower beyond about 50 exists for entertainment purposes.
Plowing through the dirt at 5MPH takes considerably less effort than plowing through the atmosphere at 70MPH.
Plowing through the dirt at 5MPH takes considerably less effort than plowing through the atmosphere at 70MPH.
Horsepower is derrived from a mathematical function where torque is multiplied by RPM and divided by some constant. It’s why a Harley Davidson can make a ton of torque down low, but have much lower HP numbers than you would expect – they just don’t rev very high. A tractor is going to be similar. You want a boat load of low down torque off idle so you can plough through dirt and mud, but you don’t need it to go very fast, so there’s no point in making it rev as high as a car. If those engines could spin as fast as car engines, they’d make substantially more power, but they don’t spin very fast, so the HP number is low
Horsepower is derrived from a mathematical function where torque is multiplied by RPM and divided by some constant. It’s why a Harley Davidson can make a ton of torque down low, but have much lower HP numbers than you would expect – they just don’t rev very high. A tractor is going to be similar. You want a boat load of low down torque off idle so you can plough through dirt and mud, but you don’t need it to go very fast, so there’s no point in making it rev as high as a car. If those engines could spin as fast as car engines, they’d make substantially more power, but they don’t spin very fast, so the HP number is low
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