Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
In engineering and physics, g c is a unit conversion factor used to convert mass to force or vice versa. [1] It is defined as = In unit systems where force is a derived unit, like in SI units, g c is equal to 1.
See Weight for detail of mass/weight distinction and conversion. Avoirdupois is a system of mass based on a pound of 16 ounces, while Troy weight is the system of mass where 12 troy ounces equals one troy pound. The symbol g 0 is used to denote standard gravity in order to avoid confusion with the (upright) g symbol for gram.
In some contexts, the term "pound" is used almost exclusively to refer to the unit of force and not the unit of mass. In those applications, the preferred unit of mass is the slug, i.e. lbf⋅s 2 /ft. In other contexts, the unit "pound" refers to a unit of mass. The international standard symbol for the pound as a unit of mass is lb. [8]
Systems of measure either define mass and derive a force unit or define a base force and derive a mass unit [1] (cf. poundal, a derived unit of force in a mass-based system). A slug is defined as a mass that is accelerated by 1 ft/s 2 when a net force of one pound (lbf) is exerted on it. [2]
The SI unit of force is the newton (symbol N), which is the force required to accelerate a one kilogram mass at a rate of one meter per second squared, or kg·m·s −2.The corresponding CGS unit is the dyne, the force required to accelerate a one gram mass by one centimeter per second squared, or g·cm·s −2. A newton is thus equal to ...
A newton is defined as 1 kg⋅m/s 2 (it is a named derived unit defined in terms of the SI base units). [1]: 137 One newton is, therefore, the force needed to accelerate one kilogram of mass at the rate of one metre per second squared in the direction of the applied force.
Units for other physical quantities are derived from this set as needed. In English Engineering Units, the pound-mass and the pound-force are distinct base units, and Newton's Second Law of Motion takes the form = where is the acceleration in ft/s 2 and g c = 32.174 lb·ft/(lbf·s 2).
Gravitational "weight" is the force created when a mass is acted upon by a gravitational field and the object is not allowed to free-fall, but is supported or retarded by a mechanical force, such as the surface of a planet. Such a force constitutes weight. [2] This force can be added to by any other kind of force.