What Is Horsepower?
On a fateful 18th century day, engineer James Watt was conducting research on ponies lifting coal out of a mine. He determined a single pony could exert 22,000 foot-pounds of work in a minute. (In practical terms, this meant lifting 220 pounds 100 feet high or 22 pounds 1,000 feet.) Watt estimated a horse to be 50% stronger than a pony and increased the number to 33,000 foot-pounds per minute. He called his new unit of measurement horsepower.
