🔧 TORQUE & LEVERS
PAGE 1 OF 5, WHAT IS TORQUE?
TURNING FORCE
PUSHING A DOOR AT THE HANDLE
When you push a door near the hinges, it barely moves. Push at the handle and it swings easily. Same force, different result. That is because rotation depends on torque, not just force. Torque is the turning effect of a force around a pivot. The Greek mathematician Archimedes famously said that with a long enough lever and a place to stand, he could move the world. He was describing the power of torque.
📐 TORQUE FORMULA
τ = r × F. Torque equals the lever arm (distance from pivot) times the force, considering the angle of push.
TURN!
LEVER ARM
📏 r = distance from pivot to force
→ Longer arm = more torque
🔧 Wrench handle = longer lever arm
→ Longer arm = more torque
🔧 Wrench handle = longer lever arm
UNITS
⚡ Torque unit: newton-metre (N·m)
🔄 More torque = faster spin-up
⚖️ Balance when torques are equal
🔄 More torque = faster spin-up
⚖️ Balance when torques are equal