torque, in physics, the tendency of a force to rotate the body to which it is applied. The torque, specified with regard to the axis of rotation, is equal to the magnitude of the component of the force vector lying in the plane perpendicular to the axis, multiplied by the shortest distance between the axis and the direction of the force component. Regardless of its orientation in space, the force vector can always be located in a plane parallel to the axis. In the figure, the force vector F lies in the plane parallel to the line OL; the component FL, being parallel to OL, has no moment about OL, while the component FP, lying in the plane perpendicular to OL, has a moment, or torque, about OL equal to FP × d, in which d, the shortest distance between FP and OL, is the moment arm or lever arm. Torque is measured in newton metres in SI units.