Force can have many units. The SI (International System of Units) unit of force is the Newton. From Newton’s three laws of motion (especially newton’s second law of motion) we can derive the formula for force as F = m x a. The SI unit for mass is kg and the SI unit for acceleration is m/s2. So, the SI unit of force is Kgm/s2 which is called Newton represented by the symbol N. It is named after Sir. Issac Newton gave the three laws of motion.
Unit of force:
1 Newton is the amount of force required to move an object weighing 1 kg for 1 meter in a second.
Other units of force include dyne, poundal, poundal force, kip, ton-force, ounce force, gram force, sthene, and Planck force. The table below discusses all the units of force with the formula for conversion from Newton.
Why do we have different units of force?
The different units of force arise due to contexts like region, phase of history, language, etc. Like for example, before the 20th century, the use of cgs(centimeter-gram-seconds) and the fps(foot-pound-second) system was more prevalent. Units like poundal force are very commonly used in the USA but not in other countries. FPS system units were the most common system used in the united kingdom until the mid-twentieth century.
| Name | Symbol | Value in newtons | Definition of one unit |
| Newton | N | 1 N | Amount of force required to move 1 Kg weight for 1-meter distance in 1 second |
| Dyne | dyn | 0.00001 N | Amount of force required to move 1 g weight for 1-centimeter distance in 1 second |
| Poundal | pdl | 0.13825495 N | Amount of force required to move 1 pound of weight for 1 foot distance in 1 second |
| Pound-force | lbf | 4.4482216 N | The gravitational force exerted on a mass of one avoirdupois pound |
| Kip | kip | 4448.2216 N | 1000 pound-force |
| Ton Force | tf | 8896.4432 N | Gravitational force exerted on mass of one metric ton |
| Ounceforce | ozf | 0.27801385 N | Gravitational force exerted on mass of one ounce |
| gramforce | gf | 0.00980665 N | Gravitational force exerted on mass of one gram |
| Sthene | sn | 1000 N | Amount of force required to move 1 ton of weight for 1-meter distance in 1 second |
| planck force | Fp | 8.263e-45 N | Amount of force to accelerate one Planck mass from rest to speed of light in one Planck time |
Dyne
Dyne is the unit of force in the centimeter gram seconds system of units(CGS). The CGS (centimeter gram scale) unit for force would be g.cm/s2. One Dyne can be defined as the force required to move an object of 1 g weight for 1 cm for 1 second.
Dyne to Newton conversion
1 Dyne = 0.00001 Newton
Newton to Dyne conversion
1 Newton = 100000 Dynes
Poundal
Poundal is the unit of force in the pound-foot-second system of units(pfs). One poundal of force is the amount of force required to move 1 pound of weight for 1 foot distance in 1 second.
Poundal to Newton conversion
1 poundal = 0.13825495 N
Newton to Poundal conversion
1 poundal = 0.138255N
Pound Force
It is the force exerted by gravitational force exerted on the mass of one avoirdupois pound. The value of pound-force is calculated by multiplying acceleration due to gravity and the mass of one avoirdupois pound. It is represented by the symbol lbf.
Pound force to Newton conversion
1 pound-force = 4.4482216 N
Newton to Pound Force conversion
1 pound force = 4.44822 N
Kip
Kip is a unit of force used in the USA. It is equal to 1000 times pound-force. In other words, It is the force exerted by the gravitational pull on a thousand avoirdupois pounds. It is represented by the symbol kip.
Kip force to Newton conversion
1 kip = 4448.2216 N
Newton to Kip force conversion
1 N = 0.0002248 kip
Ton Force
It is the force exerted by the gravitational pull on the mass of one metric ton. It is represented by the symbol tf. The value of Ton force is calculated by multiplying the acceleration due to gravity and the mass of one ton.
Ton force to Newton conversion
1 Ton force = 8896.4432 N
Newton to Ton force conversion
1 N = 0.00010197 Ton Force
Ounce force
It is the force exerted by the gravitational pull on the mass of one ounce. It is represented by the symbol Ozf. The value of the ounce force is calculated by multiplying the acceleration due to gravity and the mass of one ounce.
Ounce force to Newton conversion
1 ounce force = 0.27801385 N
Newton to Ounce force conversion
1 N = 3.5969430896 ounce force
Gram force
It is the force exerted by the gravitational pull on the mass of one gram. It is represented by the symbol gf. The value of the gram force is calculated by multiplying the acceleration due to gravity and the mass of one gram.
Gram force to Newton conversion
1 gram force = 0.00980665 N
Newton to Gram force conversion
1 Newton = 101.9716 gram force
Sthene
Sthene is the unit of force in the tonne meter seconds system of units(TMS). One Sthene can be defined as the force required to move an object of 1-tonne weight for 1 meter for 1 second.
Sthene to Newton conversion
1 Sthene = 1000 N
Newton to Sthene conversion
1 N = 0.001 Sthene
Planck force
Planck force is a unit of force used in particle physics and sometimes in physics cosmology. It is equal to the force required to accelerate one Planck mass from a state of rest to the speed of light in one Planck time.
Planck force to Newton conversion
1 Planck force = 8.263e-45 N
Newton to Planck force conversion
1 N = 1.21e+44 Planck force
