Newton

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For other uses, see Newton (disambiguation).

The newton (symbol: N) is the SI unit of force. It is named after Sir Isaac Newton in recognition of his work on classical mechanics.

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[edit] Definition

A newton is the amount of force required to accelerate a body with a mass of one kilogram at a rate of one meter per second squared.

A newton in elementary units:

1\, \mathrm{N}=1\, \mathrm{kg} \cdot \mathrm{m} / \mathrm{s}^{2}

[edit] Examples

  • 1 N is the force of Earth's gravity on an apple with a mass of about 102 g.
  • On Earth's surface, a mass of 1 kg exerts an average force of 9.8 N on its support. The approximation, 1 kg corresponding to 10 N, is used in everyday use and in engineering except where strict accuracy is required.
  • The force of Earth's gravity on a human being weighing 70 kg is approximately 700 N.
  • The scalar product of force and distance (1 N * 1 m) is the basic unit of energy, joule, in the SI system.

[edit] Conversions

Units of force
Newton
(SI unit)		 Dyne Kilogram-force
(Kilopond)		 Pound-force Poundal
1 N ≡ 1 kg·m/s² = 105 dyn ≈ 0.10197 kp ≈ 0.22481 lbf ≈ 7.2330 pdl
1 dyn = 10−5 N ≡ 1 g·cm/s² ≈ 1.0197×10−6 kp ≈ 2.2481×10−6 lbf ≈ 7.2330×10−5 pdl
1 kp = 9.80665 N = 980665 dyn ≡ gn·(1 kg) ≈ 2.2046 lbf ≈ 70.932 pdl
1 lbf ≈ 4.448222 N ≈ 444822 dyn ≈ 0.45359 kp ≡ gn·(1 lb) ≈ 32.174 pdl
1 pdl ≈ 0.138255 N ≈ 13825 dyn ≈ 0.014098 kp ≈ 0.031081 lbf ≡ 1 lb·ft/s²
The value of gn as used in the official definition of the kilogram-force is used here for all gravitational units.
This SI unit is named after Isaac Newton. As for all SI units whose names are derived from the proper name of a person, the first letter of its symbol is uppercase (N). But when an SI unit is spelled out, it should always be written in lowercase (newton), unless it begins a sentence or is the name "degree Celsius".
— Based on The International System of Units, section 5.2.

[edit] References

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