Why does farming equipment require such low horsepower compared to your average car?

Question

Why does farming equipment require such low horsepower compared to your average car?

In: 114

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

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.

Answer 3

You can do a lot with less horsepower if your gearing is low enough.

But

All the gearing in the world won’t make you go faster once air resistance eats up all your power once you start moving over X mph (X being whatever speed all your engine’s power is used up just fighting the air resistance).

Answer 4

You can do a lot with less horsepower if your gearing is low enough.

But

All the gearing in the world won’t make you go faster once air resistance eats up all your power once you start moving over X mph (X being whatever speed all your engine’s power is used up just fighting the air resistance).

Answer 5

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.

Answer 6

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.

Answer 7

Horsepower is a fictional number. It’s an equation using Torque and RPM to determine horsepower. People have said “horsepower is how fast the car hits the wall torque is how far you move the wall” because torque is the actual force you apply to the work you are doing. Since it doesn’t matter how fast you move your goal is the most amount of torque at a low rpm.

Answer 8

Horsepower is a fictional number. It’s an equation using Torque and RPM to determine horsepower. People have said “horsepower is how fast the car hits the wall torque is how far you move the wall” because torque is the actual force you apply to the work you are doing. Since it doesn’t matter how fast you move your goal is the most amount of torque at a low rpm.

Answer 9

The other nuance is it’s not just torque it’s a idea called “tractive effort”. Which is a measurement of what it can pull. The same way a trains “power” is measured.

Answer 10

The other nuance is it’s not just torque it’s a idea called “tractive effort”. Which is a measurement of what it can pull. The same way a trains “power” is measured.