Millinewton (mN)
One thousandth of a newton. Used for very small forces.
1 millinewton = 0.001 newtons (exactly).
About the millinewton
At the other end of the scale, a millinewton is one thousandth of a newton, a force so small that an apple weighing 200 g, which Wikipedia puts at about 1.96 N, would press down with nearly two thousand of them. The unit is the SI multiple 10^-3 N, formed with the prefix milli, and it suits measurements of delicate forces in laboratory work.
The abbreviation mN also appears in a closely related but different quantity. Surface tension is a force per unit length, so it is quoted in millinewtons per metre, and water at 20 degrees Celsius comes to about 72.8 mN/m. That figure equals 72.8 dyn/cm in the older centimetre-gram-second system, since one dyne per centimetre and one millinewton per metre are the same. In plain force terms, 1 mN is 100 dynes, or about 0.0000102 kilogram-force.
Sources: Wikipedia: Newton (unit); Wikipedia: Surface tension
Millinewton conversion chart
1 millinewton expressed in every other force unit:
| Unit | 1 millinewton |
|---|---|
| Newtons | 0.001 |
| Kilonewtons | 0.000001 |
| Pounds-force | 0.0002248089431 |
| Kilograms-force | 0.0001019716213 |
| Meganewtons | 1×10⁻⁹ |
| Ounces-force | 0.00359694309 |
| Grams-force | 0.1019716213 |
| Poundals | 0.007233013851 |
| Dynes | 100 |
| Kips | 2.248089431×10⁻⁷ |
| Tons-force (short) | 1.124044715×10⁻⁷ |
| Tons-force (long) | 1.003611353×10⁻⁷ |
| Tonnes-force | 1.019716213×10⁻⁷ |
| Sthènes | 0.000001 |
More Metric (SI) units
- newton (force)
- kilonewton (force)
- meganewton (force)
- meter (length)
- kilometer (length)
- centimeter (length)
- millimeter (length)
- micrometer (length)
- nanometer (length)
- picometer (length)
- decimeter (length)
- hectometer (length)
- decameter (length)
- kilogram (weight & mass)
- gram (weight & mass)
- milligram (weight & mass)
Browse all force units.