• NoSpotOfGround@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      Citing measurements made at the 1926 Iowa State Fair, they reported that the peak power over a few seconds has been measured to be as high as 14.88 hp (11.10 kW) and also observed that for sustained activity, a work rate of about 1 hp (0.75 kW) per horse is consistent with agricultural advice from both the 19th and 20th centuries […]

      Sounds to me like the 1 hp unit is fair, after all.

    • pacology@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      Here is the salient point on the Wikipedia page that explains why horses don’t produce 1 HP:

      Watt judged that the horse could pull with a force of 180 pounds-force (800 N)

      Basically, Watts made up HP to sell his steam engine to mines and likely made up a number to make the new technology seem better.

      Some things never change.

      • uis@lemm.ee
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        5 days ago

        Gotta love autocorrection of Watt into Watts. Watt = J/s = N*m/s = kg*m*m/(s^2*s) = kg*m^2/(s^3)