Newton (unit)
SI unit of force
The newton (symbol: N) is the unit of force in the International System of Units (SI). Expressed in terms of SI base units, it is 1 kg⋅m/s2, the force that accelerates a mass of one kilogram at one metre per second squared.
The unit is named after Isaac Newton in recognition of his work on classical mechanics, specifically his second law of motion.
Definition
A newton is defined as 1 kg⋅m/s2 (it is a named derived unit defined in terms of the SI base units). One newton is, therefore, the force needed to accelerate one kilogram of mass at the rate of one metre per second squared in the direction of the applied force.
The units "metre per second squared" can be understood as measuring a rate of change in velocity per unit of time, i.e. an increase in velocity by one metre per second every second.
In 1946, the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) Resolution 2 standardized the unit of force in the MKS system of units to be the amount needed to accelerate one kilogram of mass at the rate of one metre per second squared. In 1948, the 9th CGPM Resolution 7 adopted the name newton for this force. The MKS system then became the blueprint for today's SI system of units.
“Newton (unit)” enters the record as sI unit of force. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Newton, unit and force can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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