Torque is a measure of the tendency of a force to cause an object to turn or rotate. The wrench shown above is more likely to turn when a force is applied at B than when it is applied at A even tough
because the applied torque is greater at B than at A,
For the wrench above the torque at A is
and the torque at B is
The wrench above illustrates a special case of an applied force being perpendicular to the distance of the point of application of the force, A from the pivot point O being at a right angle to the Force
and similarly for B. In general there will not be a right angle involved.
The mathematical definition of toque is
The magnitude of
is
where
is the angle between
and
as shown below.
