Grams-force to Kilonewtons (gf to kN)

1 gram-force equals 0.00000980665 kilonewtons exactly.

1 gram-force = 0.00000980665 kilonewtons

How to convert grams-force to kilonewtons

To convert grams-force to kilonewtons, multiply the number of grams-force by 0.00000980665. This factor is exact. To go the other way, multiply kilonewtons by 101,971.6213 (rounded).

kilonewtons = grams-force × 0.00000980665

Example: 10 grams-force = 0.0000980665 kilonewtons.

About these units

Gram-force (gf)

CGS & old metricTraditional unit (still used in some regions)

Exactly 0.00980665 newtons. Used for small forces, such as those of delicate sensors and instruments.

Where the kilogram-force suits cables and machines, the gram-force suits fine work. It is a thousandth of a kilogram-force, which makes it exactly 9.80665 millinewtons, and it is the pull of Earth on a one-gram mass under conventional gravity. Small forces such as the contact load of a delicate sensor or the draw of a light spring have often been quoted in grams-force in older specifications.

The origin of the number lies in an 1887 decision by the international weights and measures committee to define a standard value for gravity, corrected to sea level at 45 degrees latitude, built on a measurement made in 1888 at the Bureau in Paris. The 1901 General Conference rounded that to 980.665 cm/s2. NIST tables do not list a plain gram-force, only gram-force per square centimeter at 98.0665 pascals. As a multiple of the dyne, one gram-force is 980.665 dynes. Like its larger relatives it has largely given way to millinewtons.

1 gram-force = 0.00980665 newtons (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Kilogram-force; Wikipedia: Standard gravity; NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8 conversion factors

Kilonewton (kN)

Metric (SI)Current unit

1,000 newtons. Used for structural loads, climbing gear ratings and engine thrust.

Kilonewtons exist because the newton is small. The prefix kilo- dates to the 1795 French decimal system and means one thousand, and attaching it to the newton, which the CGPM named in 1948, gives a unit sized for the loads that engineers actually handle. A kilonewton is 1,000 newtons.

One kilonewton is the weight of roughly 102 kilograms at standard gravity, or about 510 of the 200-gram apples that make a handy picture of a single newton. Structural engineers quote building and bridge loads this way, and rocket and jet engine makers quote thrust in kilonewtons and meganewtons. Each Space Shuttle solid rocket booster produced 3,300,000 pounds-force, or 14.7 meganewtons, which is 14,700 kilonewtons. Strengths of ropes, anchors and climbing hardware are also commonly given in the unit.

1 kilonewton = 1,000 newtons (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Newton (unit); Wikipedia: Metric prefix; Wikipedia: Pound (force)

Related conversions

See all force units.