Horkenbargle

Unit for sheer physical (mechanical) power, named after John Horkenbargle, the inventor of the pneumatic pile driver. In the 20th century, the unit was replaced by bar resp. pascal by a complex formula each.

History

After invention of the steam-driven pneumatic pile driver, Horkenbargle looked for a mathematical system to measure and compare his engines. He draw several large tables with curves and numbers to visualize the pressure power the machines could deliver. The famous, red-painted "Fat Lita" was able to do 7.3 Horkenbargles (23,450 bar or an estimated torque of 176 kN.m). The name "Lita" was chosen for the driver because of the fact that it "drunk" 33 litres of gasoline per minute. The canadian Horkenbargle calculated the flow in litres, not in gallons.

Sources

• "The rise of the pneumatic pile driver" by George Mellain
• "Pile drivers of the world" by Pierre Gilch
• "Units out of time" by Luigi Guglielmo Assonte