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Glite Dictionary
foot-ton

foot-ton

9.9
A measure of work or energy equal to 2,240 foot-pounds
  • noun
  • /ˈfʊtˌtɒn/
  • UK
translation icon : pie-tonelada
  • One foot-ton is equivalent to 2,240 foot-pounds.

Examples

  • The engine was rated at over 100,000 foot-tons of energy.

  • He explained that a single foot-ton represents a considerable amount of work in engineering terms.

  • The calculations required converting the figure into foot-tons for consistency.

  • How many foot-tons are needed for this project?

  • In engineering, a calculation of 50 foot-tons indicates a significant amount of energy required.

  • When designing the bridge, the engineers estimated the load in foot-tons to ensure safety.

  • To measure the energy output, the device was rated at 10 foot-tons per hour.

Surface Forms

foot-ton singular
foot-tons plural

Morphology

foot-ton = foot + ton (semi-transparent) = foot + ton

The components 'foot' and 'ton' are directly visible and indicate a compound unit, but understanding the exact equivalence (2,240 foot-pounds) requires knowing that 'ton' refers to the long ton (2,240 lb).

Etymology

Foot-ton joins foot (a 'unit of length') and ton ('a large weight'); imagine moving a heavy ton by one foot to picture a large amount of work or energy. So a foot-ton is the name for a big amount of work, equal to 2,240 foot-pounds.