Kips to Kilonewtons (kip to kN)

1 kip equals 4.448221615 kilonewtons (rounded).

How to convert kips to kilonewtons

To convert kips to kilonewtons, multiply the number of kips by 4.448221615. The factor is rounded to 10 significant digits. To go the other way, multiply kilonewtons by 0.2248089431 (rounded).

kilonewtons = kips × 4.448221615

Example: 10 kips = 44.48221615 kilonewtons.

About these units

Kip (kip)

US customaryTraditional unit (still used in some regions)

1,000 pounds-force (4.448 kN). Used for structural loads in US engineering.

Structural engineers in the United States wanted a force unit that avoided long strings of digits, and so they joined kilo and pound into kip, sometimes called a kilopound. One kip equals 1,000 pounds-force, which is about 4,448 newtons or 4.448 kilonewtons. Writing kipf or klbf makes plain that force, and not mass, is meant.

Because a pound-force is the weight of one avoirdupois pound under standard gravity, 4.4482216152605 N, the kip carries that definition with it and does not vary with local gravity. A beam design might list a column load as 150 kips instead of 150,000 lbf, and stress is often given in kips per square inch, abbreviated ksi.

Shipping also uses the term as a deadweight unit. Rarely, kip has meant a mass of 1,000 pounds. An unrelated obsolete Malaysian kip of roughly 9.19 kg also existed. In SI practice kips are replaced by kilonewtons.

1 kip = 4,448.221615 newtons (approximately).

Sources: Wikipedia: Kip (unit); Wikipedia: Pound (force)

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

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