It is worth saying right away that this is a controversial issue.
Horsepower Is a unit of measure for power. But, in the world there are several units called "horsepower". Historically, in Russia the so-called metric horsepower. And, as in a number of countries, horsepower is used as a unit of measure for the strength of an internal combustion engine.
How has the expression “horse power” developed historically?
Legend has it that the inventor of the first steam engine was “at fault” James watt. The Englishman lived in the 18th century. He longed to prove to the public that his car could be used instead of horses. But, for this it was necessary to measure the work of the horse itself.
Watt conducted an experiment on coal mines. His research showed that a horse is capable of lifting a 75 kg load from a mine at a speed of 1 meter per second (735 watts).
The problem is that such measurements can give mixed results. A variety of horsepower was invented: boiler, electric, metric, water, etc.
Later, Gene. conf. in measures and weights in 1960 adopted the SI unit of power - watt (W, W) in honor of James Watt.
So, at the limit of its capabilities, a horse can show power indicators of up to 13 horsepower. But, during normal operation, the average horse equals 1 horsepower.
