A quick, easy definition of torque?

[Jorel <jorel140@yahoo.com>]

I was talking about torque to my wife the other day. I
talked about how much I liked torque, and how if
someone offered to give me more torque for my
scirocco, I would take it without hesitation. I talked
about this Camaro I used to have that had lots more
torque than the '85 scirocco, and how sometimes I
missed having that much torque. With all this, she
finally asked me what torque was. I couldn't come up
with an easy answer. I explained to her about  this
thing that gives rise to rotational movement, things
like that, things you could find in a book about
physics. She still doesn't understand what torque is,
and now I'm not even sure I do. So I was wondering if
anyone out there can give me a quick definition? I
also told her that v8 engines produce more torque than
4 cylinder engines, and she asked me why. Now that I
think about it, I don't really know why either; but I
would assume it has somthing to do with the size of a
crankshaft. Funny how I have been throwing around all
these terms and not really knowing just what the hell
I am talking about!

TIA

Jorel Jackson
'85 Scirocco, proof that torque may not be everything...

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