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Newton metre is a unit of torque (also called "moment") in the SI system.1 The symbolic form is N m or N·m,2 and sometimes hyphenated newton-metre. One Newton metre is equal to the torque resulting from a force of one newton applied perpendicularly to a moment arm which is one metre long.
A newton metre is dimensionally equivalent to a joule, the SI unit of energy and work. However, it is not appropriate to express a torque in Joules — the units are necessary to distinguish a torque quantity from an energy quantity.3 The two quantities, torque and energy, are physically different despite being dimensionally equivalent. For example, energy is a scalar while torque is a vector (in fact, a pseudovector). Also, a given force applied to an object can contribute torque but not work, or work but not torque, or both, or neither.
On the other hand, there are relations between torque and energy that sheds light on their dimensional relationship. In particular, a torque can contribute to rotational energy; the work done in this process (measured in J) is equal to the torque (measured in N m) times the angle through which the body rotates as a result.4 This accounts for the use of an alternative unit for torque, Joule per radian (J/rad)
Conversion factors
- 1 joule = 1 N·m
- 1 newton metre = 0.7375621 foot-pound force (often "foot-pound")
- 1 metre kilogram-force = 9.80665 N·m
- 1 centimetre kilogram-force = 98.0665 mN·m
- 1 foot-pound force (often "foot-pounds") = 1 pound-force foot (often "pound-feet") = 1.3558179 N·m
- 1 inch ounce-force = 7.0615518 mN·m
- 1 dyne centimetre = 10−7 N·m
See also
References
- ^ From the official SI website: "...For example, the quantity torque may be thought of as the cross product of force and distance, suggesting the unit newton metre, or it may be thought of as energy per angle, suggesting the unit joule per radian."
- ^ BIPM - unit symbols
- ^ From the official SI website: "A derived unit can often be expressed in different ways by combining base units with derived units having special names. Joule, for example, may formally be written newton metre, or kilogram metre squared per second squared. This, however, is an algebraic freedom to be governed by common sense physical considerations; in a given situation some forms may be more helpful than others. In practice, with certain quantities, preference is given to the use of certain special unit names, or combinations of unit names, to facilitate the distinction between different quantities having the same dimension."
- ^
Ferdinand Beer et. al., Vector Mechanics for Engineers page 1084.
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 4 November 2008, at 10:30.
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