Re: lbf. vs Tractive Effort

James Wrote:
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> We can finally toss in horrible misleading terms
> like "boiler horsepower" which has nothing at all
> to do with any of the above

Yes, boiler horsepower is the most worthless measurement in the history of mankind, next to "as long as a piece of string".

One other tidbit about horsepower, In advertising, automobile engines were often rated in "SAE horsepower" base on some assumed variables which have nothing to do with the performance of a given engine, and mainly served to inflate the horsepower number to wow the customers. My auto shop teacher regaled us once with the tale of when he had access to an automobile dynamometer calibrated in brake horsepower, and set up his own car with a 250+ HP V8 under the hood. When wound out for all it was worth on the dyno, the best he could get was 52 brake horsepower at the wheels. SAE horsepower in gas engines is another reason why people get the impression that steam engine horsepower is somehow much stronger than internal combustion horsepower.