The foot-pound force (symbol: ft·lbf) is a unit of work or energy in the Engineering and Gravitational Systems in United States customary and imperial units of measure. It is the energy transferred upon applying a force of one pound-force (lbf) through a linear displacement of one foot. The corresponding SI unit is the joule.
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Usage
The foot-pound is often used to specify the muzzle energy of a bullet in small arms ballistics, particularly in the United States.
"Foot-pound" is sometimes also used as a unit of torque (see pound-foot (torque)). In the United States this unit is often used to specify, for example, the tightness of a bolt or the output of an engine. Although they are dimensionally equivalent, energy (a scalar) and torque (a vector) are distinct physical quantities. Both energy and torque can be expressed as a product of a force vector with a displacement vector (hence pounds and feet); energy is the scalar product of the two, and torque is the vector product.
Energy units
1 foot-pound is equivalent to: