Torque Torque Torque, moment, or moment of force is the rotational equivalent of linear force. The concept originated with the studies of Archimedes on the usage of levers. Just as a linear force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist to an object. The symbol for torque is typically formula_1, the lowercase Greek letter "tau". When being referred to as moment of force, it is commonly denoted by "M". In three dimensions, the torque is a pseudovector; for point particles, it is given by the cross product of the position vector (distance vector)
Torque called a "torque". Similarly with any force couple on an object that has no change to its angular momentum, such moment is also not called a "torque". This article follows the US physics terminology by calling all moments by the term "torque", whether or not they cause the angular momentum of an object to change. A force applied at a right angle to a lever multiplied by its distance from the lever's fulcrum (the length of the lever arm) is its torque. A force of three newtons applied two metres from the fulcrum, for example, exerts the same torque as