Torque and moment

[Uth]

Hello everybody!

 

Is there any difference between a torque and a moment?

 

Both are forces multiplied by the distance.

 

Thanks!

[Pete]

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

[CaptainPanic]

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

 

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

[Uth]

Thanks a lot for help!

[Kyrisch]

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

[booker]

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, 2008 by booker

[Uth]

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.

[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.

 

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, 2008 by booker