As a point of clarification, Torque can be static or dynamic. (stationary or moving).
First of all, torque is not a force. That is a very common, and very wrong, statement. Torque is torque; it is a product of two things, those being force and distance.
Torque is a product; it's an output of a formula. The inputs are force and distance. T = F x D
T is torque
F is force
D is distance (and depending upon application, that "D" will either be a linear or angular distance)
In the static case, the "distance" is linear and represents the delta between the point of application of the force and the point of origin where revolution would be centered (perpendicular to the line). Static torque can exist without movement. For example, you could have a large 1.5" bolt that needs 300 ft-lb of torque to remove the nut from the bolt. If you only apply 100 ft-lb of torque, the nut will not revolve on the axis of the bolt and will not move. But torque still does exist, yet not in a magnitude sufficient to move the nut. In the static sense, no work is being done.
Dynamic torque exists when the product of force and distance are sufficient to create revolving movement, inherent in the system design (whatever that might be comprised of). In this case, distance is measured in terms of angular displacement (typically radians are the UoM). Because there is movement, work is being done.
If we took the layman's description and put it into a formula, it would look like this:
"Torque is a force."
T = F
Obviously, that is an incomplete and false statement.
My point being that one should never say "torque is a force". That's not right. It's also not right to say "torque is a rotational force", because you're still leaving out one of the inputs. The CORRECT way to explain torque is that it is an output of two inputs; it is a product of a mathematical formula.
"Torque is a product of force applied at a linear distance, or through angular displacement"
TORQUE = F x D
