Poundforcefoot

Poundforcefoot, often abbreviated as lb ft, is a unit of torque. Torque is a twisting force that tends to cause rotation. It is the product of a force and the perpendicular distance from the point of application of the force to the axis of rotation. The poundforcefoot is one of many units used to express torque, and it is commonly encountered in the United States customary system of units and in British imperial units.

The unit is derived from the pound-force (lb), which is a unit of force, and the foot (ft), which is a unit of distance. Therefore, one poundforcefoot is equivalent to applying a force of one pound-force at a distance of one foot from the pivot point. For example, if you were to tighten a bolt with a wrench that is one foot long, and you applied a force of one pound perpendicular to the wrench handle at its end, you would be applying one poundforcefoot of torque.

While poundforcefoot is a widely recognized unit, it is important to distinguish it from the foot-pound (ft-lb), which is a unit of energy or work. Although the numerical value may be the same, the physical quantities they represent are different. Torque is a vector quantity, whereas energy is a scalar quantity. In scientific and engineering contexts, particularly in metric systems, the newton-meter (N m) is the standard SI unit for torque. However, poundforcefoot remains prevalent in certain industries and regions.