Acceleration Converter
Convert between acceleration units including m/s2, g-force, ft/s2, Gal, milligal, km/h/s, and mph/s.
Acceleration Converter
Calculator
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Formula: Converted = Value x (From Factor in m/s2) / (To Factor in m/s2)
Worked example โ 0.809 g or 7.937 m/s2 (26.03 ft/s2)
Formula
Converted = Value x (From Factor in m/s2) / (To Factor in m/s2)
Each acceleration unit has a defined conversion factor to the SI unit m/s2. To convert, multiply the input by its m/s2 factor, then divide by the target unit m/s2 factor. Key conversions: 1 g = 9.80665 m/s2, 1 ft/s2 = 0.3048 m/s2, 1 Gal = 0.01 m/s2, 1 km/h/s = 0.2778 m/s2.
Worked Examples
Example 1: Car Acceleration in g-force
Problem:A sports car accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.5 seconds. What is the acceleration in g?
Solution:Acceleration = 100 km/h / 3.5 s = 28.571 km/h/s In m/s2 = 28.571 / 3.6 = 7.937 m/s2 In g = 7.937 / 9.807 = 0.809 g
Result:0.809 g or 7.937 m/s2 (26.03 ft/s2)
Example 2: Converting Gal to Standard Gravity
Problem:A gravimeter reads 980,620 milligals. Express this in standard gravity units.
Solution:Milligals to Gal = 980,620 / 1000 = 980.620 Gal To m/s2 = 980.620 x 0.01 = 9.8062 m/s2 To g = 9.8062 / 9.80665 = 0.99995 g
Result:980,620 mGal = 9.8062 m/s2 = 0.99995 g
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the standard acceleration due to gravity (g)?
Standard gravity (g) is defined as exactly 9.80665 m/s2 by international agreement. This value represents the average gravitational acceleration at sea level at a latitude of about 45 degrees. Actual gravitational acceleration varies from about 9.780 m/s2 at the equator to 9.832 m/s2 at the poles due to Earth's rotation and oblate shape, a spread of roughly 0.5 percent. The g-force unit is widely used in aviation, automotive engineering, and amusement park design to express accelerations relative to this standard.
What is a Gal and why is it used in geophysics?
A Gal (named after Galileo) equals 1 cm/s2 or 0.01 m/s2. Geophysicists use the milligal (0.001 Gal) and microgal (0.000001 Gal) to measure tiny variations in Earth's gravitational field. These variations reveal subsurface density differences caused by mineral deposits, underground voids, tectonic structures, and changes in groundwater levels. Gravity surveys using sensitive gravimeters can detect anomalies as small as a few microgals, enabling resource exploration and geological mapping.
How do you convert between different acceleration units?
All acceleration units express the rate of change of velocity over time. To convert between them, first express the input in the SI base unit of m/s2 by multiplying by the appropriate factor, then divide by the target unit factor. For example, 1 g = 9.80665 m/s2 = 32.174 ft/s2 = 980.665 Gal. Practical units like km/h/s and mph/s are common in automotive contexts: 0-100 km/h in 5 seconds means 20 km/h/s or about 5.556 m/s2 (0.567 g).
What g-forces can the human body withstand?
The human body can tolerate different g-forces depending on direction, duration, and rate of onset. Sustained vertical g-forces of +5g (blood forced toward feet) cause loss of consciousness in most people within seconds without a g-suit. Fighter pilots with g-suits can sustain +9g briefly. Horizontal g-forces are better tolerated; astronauts during launch experience about 3g for several minutes. Brief impacts of 40-80g can be survivable with proper restraints, as demonstrated in car crashes and ejection seats. Negative g-forces (blood toward head) are poorly tolerated above -2 to -3g.
What does an accelerometer actually read, and why does it show 1 g while sitting still?
An accelerometer measures proper acceleration, the acceleration relative to free fall, not motion across the ground. A phone resting on a table is held up by the table against gravity, so it reads about 9.81 m/s2, or 1 g, pointing upward. Drop it and the reading falls to roughly zero even though it is speeding up. This is why g-force in aviation and vehicle testing describes the force the structure feels, not how quickly it is changing position.
What is jerk and why does it matter as much as acceleration?
Jerk is the rate of change of acceleration, so its SI unit is metres per second cubed rather than m/s2. Two lifts can both reach 1.2 m/s2 while feeling completely different: the one that ramps up gently has low jerk, the one that snaps to speed has high jerk. Because tissues and mountings respond to how suddenly load arrives, lift standards, rail comfort criteria and impact-injury analysis all limit jerk separately from peak acceleration.
How do you turn an acceleration into a speed and a distance?
For constant acceleration starting from rest, speed is v = a x t and distance is d = 0.5 x a x t squared. At 1 g, after 3 seconds an object reaches 9.80665 x 3 = 29.42 m/s and has fallen 0.5 x 9.80665 x 9 = 44.13 metres. Notice the units follow through: m/s2 multiplied by seconds gives m/s, and multiplied by seconds squared gives metres. If your answer does not carry the right unit, the conversion factor was applied in the wrong direction.
How do you work out the g-force in a turn rather than in a straight line?
Turning is acceleration even at constant speed, because the velocity vector keeps changing direction. Centripetal acceleration is a = v squared / r, with v in m/s and r the corner radius in metres. A car taking a 100 m radius bend at 30 m/s undergoes 900 / 100 = 9 m/s2, which is 9 / 9.80665 = 0.92 g sideways. That figure is the one to compare against tyre grip limits, and it is why a tighter radius at the same speed loads the car far harder.
If astronauts are weightless in orbit, why is it called microgravity rather than zero gravity?
Earth's gravitational field at a few hundred kilometres altitude is still close to its surface value; the station and everything in it are simply in continuous free fall around the planet, so nothing presses on anything else. What remains are small residual accelerations from atmospheric drag, thruster firings, crew movement and the fact that parts of the vehicle sit at slightly different orbital radii. These typically sit near a millionth of a g, which is roughly 10 micrometres per second squared, hence micro.
Why does a gravimeter reading change when you move it uphill?
Gravitational attraction weakens with distance from Earth's centre, so raising an instrument reduces the measured value by about 0.3086 milligal for every metre of elevation gain, the free-air gradient. Since survey targets such as ore bodies or cavities may produce anomalies of only a few tens of microgals, an unrecorded height change of a single metre swamps the signal. Gravity surveys therefore apply free-air and terrain corrections using precise elevations before any subsurface interpretation begins.
References
Reviewed for accuracy by Manoj Kumar, Mathematics Educator ยท Editorial policy
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