AUG 25, 2017 1:15 PM PDT

Can Humans Generate Horsepower?

WRITTEN BY: Anthony Bouchard


Horsepower is a unit of measure commonly used to determine how much power various kinds of machines generate. For example, small electric motors, medium-sized car engines, and even large rockets used to travel into outer space use horsepower to measure their output.

Horsepower isn't just a term used for selling automobiles. Despite the common misconception, one horsepower does not equal the energy output of one horse. Instead, horsepower is the equivalent of 745.7 (746) watts.

You can calculate the horsepower your own body produces with a little bit of math, so if you were wondering how you scale up to conventional car engines or small electric motors, you could find out.

In this video, the producer generates 0.89 horsepower with his body while running up a flight of stairs. The figure was concluded by determining how many watts his body produced during the work and then dividing that number by 746.

A guide at the end of the video will take you through the steps to figure your own body's horsepower if you're up for the challenge. Because people come in all different shapes and sizes, everyone will produce varying amounts of work, hence different horsepower results.

About the Author
Other
Fascinated by scientific discoveries and media, Anthony found his way here at LabRoots, where he would be able to dabble in the two. Anthony is a technology junkie that has vast experience in computer systems and automobile mechanics, as opposite as those sound.
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