Technically confused: Power/Torque

As a woman I'm not too sure what the difference is...
Please enlighten me?

Torque is very similar to force - That is how strong the engine is. This is more relevant to hill climbing and acceleration. Torque is measured in Newton meter (Basically force x the effective arm length)

Power is the rate at which the force can be applied - That will give an indication how fast the engine is. Power is measured in KiloWatt

Power and Torque is related through the following formula:

Power = 2 x pi (22/7) x Engine speed (rev/min) x Torque / 60000

You can thus increase the Power (speed) of a car by either having a very strong force (Lots of torque) or a very high revving engine (lot of revs/min).

By using a gearbox you can also increase the output torque at the wheels of a vehicle. A gearbox is essentially a type of lever. So by having a very long lever you can create a big force (Torque) and move something very heavy a little distance at a time (very slow speed). This long lever can be seen as equivalent to your first gear. The higher gears are just different ratio levers that can move smaller rocks at faster speeds.

This is my layman's explanation, but if you like I can borrow you a few elementary handbooks

Otherwise just Wikipedia it, if my explanation is Greek
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torque#Relationship_between_torque.2C_power_and_energy

PS Let's see how JR and Leroy hijack this one

Sounds logic - but still confusing - will have to read it a few more times.

Leroy, is the Wikipedia explanation less confusing?