Hello everybody!

 

Is there any difference between a torque and a moment?

 

Both are forces multiplied by the distance.

 

Thanks!

Hello everybody!

 

Is there any difference between a torque and a moment?

 

Both are forces multiplied by the distance.

 

Thanks!

I think that some people use those terms interchangably. I prefer the term torque myself.

 

Pete

Wikipedia's page about torque starts with the sentence: "A torque (τ) in physics, also called a moment, ..."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torque

Thanks a lot for help!

Hmm, but 'moment' has a completely different article.

Hello everybody!

 

There's also a quantity called a couple.

 

Both a torque wrench and a rotating motor in normal use are designed to develope a couple, ranther than a torque.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couple_(mechanics)

 

I really think a couple should be tought before torque. It more naturally corrisponds to our experience of what it take to get something spinning. Applying a torque about some center of mass will have the combined effect of both spinning the object and pushing it to the side.

Edited August 27, 200817 yr by booker

Maybe torque is a special case of moment. The following definition is from "Worldbook encyclopedia":

 

Moment, in physics, is the product of a quantity multiplied by a particular distance from a fulcrum, or axis. Moment of force, also called torque, is an example.

Maybe torque is a special case of moment. The following definition is from "Worldbook encyclopedia":

 

Moment, in physics, is the product of a quantity multiplied by a particular distance from a fulcrum, or axis. Moment of force, also called torque, is an example.

 

Well, they have the same units. A couple is independent of the choice of origin.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couple_(mechanics)

Edited August 28, 200817 yr by booker