Kilonewtons to Meganewtons (kN to MN)

1 kilonewton equals 0.001 meganewtons exactly.

How to convert kilonewtons to meganewtons

To convert kilonewtons to meganewtons, multiply the number of kilonewtons by 0.001. This factor is exact. To go the other way, multiply meganewtons by 1,000.

meganewtons = kilonewtons × 0.001

Example: 10 kilonewtons = 0.01 meganewtons.

About these units

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)

Meganewton (MN)

Metric (SI)Current unit

One million newtons. Used for rocket thrust.

Rocket launches are where the meganewton shows up most often. The Saturn V is listed at 34.5 MN of thrust at liftoff, a figure that would read as 34,500,000 N if written in plain newtons. The unit is simply the SI multiple 10^6 N, formed with the prefix mega, and the newton itself was named after Isaac Newton when the 9th General Conference on Weights and Measures adopted the name in 1948.

Civil engineers meet it too, since the loads carried by bridge cables, dam gates and building foundations are naturally counted in millions of newtons. It sits above the kilonewton, which Wikipedia notes as the scale of a steam locomotive's tractive effort or a jet engine's thrust, at roughly 130 kN. One meganewton is 1,000 kN, and in the older non-metric units it works out to about 225,000 pounds-force or roughly 102 tonnes-force, using 4.4482 N per pound-force and 9.80665 N per kilogram-force.

1 meganewton = 1,000,000 newtons (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Newton (unit); Wikipedia: Saturn V; Wikipedia: Pound (force)

Related conversions

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