If you are wondering what kind of force you can get from your engine, you will have to convert your horsepower to thrust. Thrust is the effect of pressure or force on an object. Horsepower is a measurement of power, which is the amount of work done over a specific amount of time. Converting horsepower to thrust involves the equation for power, which is the amount of force multiplied by the velocity, which is a measure of distance over time.
Divide the distance the object was moved in feet by the duration of the move in minutes to calculate the velocity. For example, if the object was moved 200 feet in 5 minutes, the velocity equals 200 divided by 5, which is 40. The velocity is 40 feet per minute.
Multiply the amount in horsepower by 33,000 to convert it to pounds per foot per minute, which is the amount of feet the given weight is moved in a single minute and is designated as lb.ft./ minute. For the example, if the horsepower is 10, multiplying 10 by 33,000 equals 330,000 lb.ft./minute.
Divide the converted horsepower by the velocity to calculate the thrust. For this example, 330,000 lb.ft/minute divided by 40 feet/minute equals 8,250 lbs. The thrust is 8,250 lbs.
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Chance E. Gartneer began writing professionally in 2008 working in conjunction with FEMA. He has the unofficial record for the most undergraduate hours at the University of Texas at Austin. When not working on his children's book masterpiece, he writes educational pieces focusing on early mathematics and ESL topics.
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