Kilogram-force Meters to Kilojoules (kgf⋅m to kJ)

1 kilogram-force meter equals 0.00980665 kilojoules exactly.

1 kilogram-force meter = 0.00980665 kilojoules

How to convert kilogram-force meters to kilojoules

To convert kilogram-force meters to kilojoules, multiply the number of kilogram-force meters by 0.00980665. This factor is exact. To go the other way, multiply kilojoules by 101.9716213 (rounded).

kilojoules = kilogram-force meters × 0.00980665

Example: 10 kilogram-force meters = 0.0980665 kilojoules.

The 'calorie' on food labels is really a kilocalorie. The thermochemical calorie (4.184 J) is used here unless marked IT.

About these units

Kilogram-force Meter (kgf⋅m)

CGS & old metricHistorical unit (no longer in standard use)

Exactly 9.80665 joules, the work of lifting one kilogram by one meter on Earth. Common in older engineering and for torque in Asia.

Kilogram-force meter is the work done when a force of one kilogram-force acts through one meter, a unit of the old gravitational metric system of engineers. Since a kilogram-force is 9.80665 newtons, it equals 9.80665 joules, using the conventional standard gravity adopted in 1901.

Engineers favored it because weights in kilograms could be multiplied directly by heights in meters to give lifting work. The same combination is also used for torque, where NIST lists it against the newton meter with the same factor of 9.80665, and it is sometimes written as kilopond meter.

The kilogram-force was never part of the International System of Units, and the newton replaced it after 1948. Even so, older motor and tool specifications, especially from Asian and European sources, still quote torque in kgf m, and dividing by about ten gives a rough figure in newton meters.

1 kilogram-force meter = 9.80665 joules (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Kilogram-force; NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8 conversion factors; Wikipedia: Centimetre-gram-second system of units

Kilojoule (kJ)

Metric (SI)Current unit

1,000 joules. Food labels in many countries give energy in kilojoules.

Most food labels around the world express energy in kilojoules, which is the calorie's long retirement in action. The calorie came out of heat measurement, and the 1948 CGPM resolution stated that the joule should be preferred as the unit of heat. Labels that still show kilocalories alongside kilojoules rely on the thermochemical calorie of exactly 4.184 joules, so one kilocalorie is about 4.184 kJ.

The kilojoule is a convenient size for a body's daily bookkeeping. A person at rest uses about 5,000 kJ, or roughly 1,200 kcal, per day, and the recommended intake for a moderately active woman is given as 2,000 food calories, which is about 8,400 kJ.

Smaller physical comparisons land in the same range. One watt-hour is 3.6 kJ, a British thermal unit is about 1.1 kJ, exploding a gram of TNT releases about 4.2 kJ, and an alkaline AA battery holds about 9 kJ.

1 kilojoule = 1,000 joules (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Kilojoule; Wikipedia: Joule; Wikipedia: Orders of magnitude (energy)

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