Horsepower (1937)

horsepower horses have always been the symbol of power of course the power of different horses varies a great deal the amount and the kind of power depend on the breed of the horse the polo pony for example must be compact responsive to his riders lightest touch his power is used for quick starting and stopping the Irish hunter is ranging his strength is in his legs for the reserve power to leap over fences and ditches in cross country rides the hard-working Mustang or cow pony is clever and sure-footed with plenty of stamina to survive the hardships of dangerous trails the fiery Arab stallion is bred with the courage and endurance for wild rides across baking sands in the thoroughbred racehorse every line of bone and muscle shows the result of generations of breeding for speed while the massive draft horses have been bred for strength and immense pulling power the mighty muscles of the horse have made him a friend and servant to man in his development in progress back in 1769 in England English mine operators were using the power furnished by horses to pump water from flooded mines mine owners naturally thought in terms of the number of horses needed to do a certain amount of work when James Watt invented a mechanical substitute for the power of horses in 1769 he wanted to know how much work it would do in comparison with a horse so he and his assistant William Murdoch performed many experiments under various conditions measuring the ability of different horses to raise heavy stone weights from a stone quarry pit they found that the average horse under average conditions exerts the amount of power which would raise 550 pounds distance of one foot in one second working continuously for one minute the same power could move a total of 33,000 pounds a distance of one foot what took this figure as a unit and called it one horsepower the horse power unit proved very useful what was able to tell mine owners and business men exactly what size engine would be needed to replace the horses they'd been using when the use of mechanical power became more general what's horsepower unit was kept as a standard for estimating and comparing power we can measure any energy in terms of horsepower for example it would take about 3 million ants to develop the power of a single horse sturdy legs and the strong back give the more strength than the average human being yet in action he develops only one-fifth of a horsepower while the elephant having the advantage of his great size and huge muscles can perform complicated tasks with the strength of five horses as the needs of civilization have increased gradually machines have taken the place of muscles to develop power today man gets power from many sources the power of steam the power of water and electricity and the power of the internal combustion engine as engines developed by men have grown more powerful they have grown more compact this perfect mini at your engine has four cylinders but it develops only one horsepower on the other hand the largest and most powerful internal combustion engines in the world located at a power plant in Chicago have only four cylinders apiece but each of these giants drives a dynamo which generates enough electricity to do the work of 10,000 horses it isn't a number of cylinders it is the size design that is important in an automobile engine likewise there are many factors that control the amount and the kind of power feature by feature part by part cylinder by cylinder the horsepower of automobile engines has been increased power and economy in the modern automobile engine result from the careful design of many features the carburetor is designed to handle the gasoline efficiently and accurately to get the greatest advantage from the fuel intake manifold passages and valve openings are designed to supply quick reserves of power with economy precision fitted Pistons give stamina and durability the cooling system keeps the engine operating at a constant temperature developing full power at all times and under all weather conditions every part has been designed with maximum strength for rugged constant power while friction removing bearings and special lubrication permits sustained high speeds the valve in head design has brought to the motorcar the same flashing power that brings the thrills who riding in a speedboat the same dependable power that is so vital in an air transport combined with the maximum efficiency of the racing car getting the last drop of energy out of a drop of gasoline the modern motorcar has these same features of design for extra power under all conditions of weather and Road few people realize the great amount of power that travels with them under the hood of their automobile theirs to control wisely and safely almost every family can have at its individual command the strength of 85 horses eager and willing to respond 85 horsepower flowing smoothly at the touch of the accelerator

Channel: US Auto Industry

Views: 378,898

Rating: 4.9395041 out of 5

Keywords: Automobile (Industry), Horsepower, bowl, buick, prop, general, jet, airplane, super, pontiac, aviation, ford, motors, (1937), luftfahrt, Airbus, airline, Boeing, history, Chevrolet, chevy

Id: A3Z1KwKnuP8

Length: 8min 57sec (537 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 26 2012

Reddit Comments

[u/Vovabs]

I see they had problems with long youtube intros all the way back in 1937.

[u/rayz0101]

TIL an elephant is 5 horsepower.

[u/thetinymoo]

"Coolie" was still okay in 1937? TIL