Force Conversion Calculator

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How to Convert Units of Force

Conversions are performed by using a conversion factor. By knowing the conversion factor, converting between units can become a simple multiplication problem:

S * C = E

Where S is our starting value, C is our conversion factor, and E is our end converted result.

To simply convert from any unit into newtons, for example, from 20 kilogram-force, just multiply by the conversion value in the right column in the table below.

20 kgf * 9.80665 [ (N) / (kgf) ] = 196.133 N

To convert from N into units in the left column divide by the value in the right column or, multiply by the reciprocal, 1/x.

196.133 N / 9.80665 [ (N) / (kgf) ] = 20 kgf

To convert among any units in the left column, say from A to B, you can multiply by the factor for A to convert A into Newtons then divide by the factor for B to convert out of Newtons. Or, you can find the single factor you need by dividing the A factor by the B factor.

For example, to convert from kilogram-force to ounce-force you would multiply by 9.80665 then divide by 0.2780139. Or, multiply by 9.80665/0.2780139 = 35.2739557. So, to convert directly from kgf to ozf, you multiply by 35.2739557.

Units, symbols and conversion values
used in this force calculator
To Convert from Unit	Unit Symbol	and Convert to ( N )	Multiply by ( N / Unit )
dyne	dyn	newton	0.00001
kilogram-force	kgf	newton	9.80665
kilopond	kp	newton	9.80665
kip	kip	newton	4448.222
newton	N	newton	1
kilonewton	kN	newton	1000
ounce-force	ozf	newton	0.2780139
poundal	pdl	newton	0.138255
pound-force	lbf	newton	4.448222
ton-force	tnf	newton	8896.443

References/ Further Reading

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - The NIST Guide for the use of the International System of Units - Appendix B, subsections B.8 Factors for Units Listed Alphabetically and B.9 Factors for units listed by kind of quantity or field of science.

Lide, David R., Daniel (Editor-in-Chief). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 89th Edition New York, NY: CRC Press, p. 1-28, 2008.

Wikipedia contributors. "Conversion of units" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, last visited 26 Jun. 2011.

How Many? A dictionary of units of measurement at http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/