Metre per second

"m/s" redirects here. For other uses, see m/s (disambiguation).
Metre per second
Unit systemSI
Unit ofspeed
Symbolm/s
Conversions
1 m/s in ...... is equal to ...
   km/h   3.6
   mph   2.2369
   kn   1.9438
   ft/s   3.2808

The metre per second is the unit of both speed (a scalar quantity) and velocity (a vector quantity, which has direction and magnitude) in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the speed of a body covering a distance of one metre in a time of one second. As the base unit for speed in the SI, it is commonly used in physics, mechanics, and engineering contexts. It represents both scalar speed and vector velocity, depending on context. According to the definition of metre,[1] 1 m/s is exactly of the speed of light.

Velocity vs Time Graph
A velocity(In vector metres per second) versus time chart. It shows how the unit metre per second is often used in scientific and educational occassions.

The SI unit symbols are m/s, m·s−1, m s−1, or ⁠m/s⁠.[2]

Conversions

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1 m/s is equivalent to:

= 3.6 km/h (exactly)[3]
≈ 3.2808 feet per second (approximately)[4]
≈ 2.2369 miles per hour (approximately)[5]
≈ 1.9438 knots (approximately)[6]

1 foot per second = 0.3048 m/s (exactly)[7]

1 mile per hour = 0.44704 m/s (exactly)[8]

1 km/h = 0.27 m/s (exactly)[9]

History and Standardization

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The metre per second became the official SI derived unit for both speed and velocity with the establishment of the International System of Units (SI) in 1960 by the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM).[10] Prior to this, various units such as feet per second, miles per hour, and knots were more commonly used, depending on the region and application.

The unit derives from the SI base units of metre (length) and second (time), both of which were defined more precisely in the 20th century. The metre was originally based on the dimensions of the Earth, but is now defined by the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second. The second is defined using the vibration frequency of cesium atoms(9,192,631,770 oscillations per second)[11]. Because of it's accuracy, simplicity and preciseness, this unit is adopted as the official unit of speed and velocity and is almost always used as the unit of speed and velocity in scientific occassions.

Relation to other measures

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The benz, named in honour of Karl Benz, has been proposed as a name for one metre per second.[12] Although it has seen some support as a practical unit,[13] primarily from German sources,[12] it was rejected as the SI unit of velocity[14] and has not seen widespread use or acceptance.[15]

The square of metres per second, or square metre per square second, is used as a unit of gravitational potential.

Unicode character

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The "metre per second" symbol is encoded by Unicode at code point U+33A7 ㎧ SQUARE M OVER S.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Definitions of the SI base units". physics.nist.gov. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  2. ^ "SI brochure, Section 5.1". Archived from the original on 2019-03-21. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
  3. ^ CDX Automotive (2013). South African Automotive Light Vehicle Level 3. Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 478. ISBN 978-1449697853.
  4. ^ Dinçer, İbrahim; Rosen, Marc A. (2007). EXERGY: Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development. Amsterdam: Elsevier. p. 444. ISBN 9780080531359. OCLC 228148217.
  5. ^ Jazar, Reza N. (2017). Vehicle Dynamics: Theory and Application (3. ed.). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. p. 957. ISBN 9783319534411. OCLC 988750637.
  6. ^ Collinson, R.P.G. (2013). Introduction to Avionics Systems (2. ed.). Boston: Springer Science & Business Media. p. 16. ISBN 9781441974662. OCLC 861706692.
  7. ^ Potter, Merle C; Wiggert, David C; Ramadan, Bassem H. (2016). Mechanics of Fluids, SI Edition (5. ed.). Cengage Learning. p. 722. ISBN 978-1305887701.
  8. ^ Das, Braja M.; Kassimali, Aslam; Sami, Sedat (2010). Mechanics for Engineers: Statics. Ft. Lauderdale, FL: J. Ross Publishing. p. 556. ISBN 9781604270297. OCLC 419827343.
  9. ^ Wright, Gus (2015). Fundamentals of medium/heavy duty diesel engines. Burlington, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. p. 1349. ISBN 9781284067057. OCLC 927104266.
  10. ^ "SI Brochure - BIPM". BIPM. Archived from the original on 2025-06-24. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
  11. ^ "Second | COSMOS". astronomy.swin.edu.au. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
  12. ^ a b Klein HA. (2011). The Science of Measurement: A Historical Survey. Dover Publications. p. 695. ISBN 978-0486258393.
  13. ^ Heijungs R. (2005). "On the Use of Units in LCA". The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 10 (3): 174. Bibcode:2005IJLCA..10..173H. doi:10.1065/lca2005.02.199. S2CID 110961104.
  14. ^ Cardarelli F. (2004). Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measures: Their SI Equivalences and Origins. Transl. by MJ Shields. (3rd revised ed.). Springer. p. 217. ISBN 978-1852336820.
  15. ^ Dresner S. (1974). Units of Measurement: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Units Both Scientific and Popular and the Quantities They Measure. Harvey Miller and Medcalf. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-85602-036-0.
  16. ^ Unicode Consortium (2019). "The Unicode Standard 12.0 – CJK Compatibility ❰ Range: 3300—33FF ❱" (PDF). Unicode.org. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
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