Cgssystemof Units Converter
Convert cgssystemof units between units instantly. Includes conversion tables, common equivalents, and calculation formulas.
Cgssystemof Units Converter
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Formula: Converted = Value x (From Factor in CGS base) / (To Factor in CGS base)
Worked example โ 5 Newtons = 500,000 dynes
Formula
Converted = Value x (From Factor in CGS base) / (To Factor in CGS base)
Each unit is expressed as a factor relative to the CGS base unit for its quantity type. For force, the base is the dyne (1 N = 100,000 dyn). For energy, the base is the erg (1 J = 10^7 ergs). For pressure, the base is the barye (1 Pa = 10 Ba). Convert by multiplying input by its CGS factor, then dividing by the target factor.
Worked Examples
Example 1: Converting Newtons to Dynes
Problem:A force of 5 Newtons. How many dynes is that?
Solution:1 Newton = 100,000 dynes Dynes = 5 x 100,000 = 500,000 dynes = 5 x 10^5 dyn
Result:5 Newtons = 500,000 dynes
Example 2: Converting Joules to Ergs
Problem:An energy of 2.5 Joules expressed in ergs.
Solution:1 Joule = 10,000,000 ergs = 10^7 ergs Ergs = 2.5 x 10^7 = 25,000,000 ergs = 2.5 x 10^7 ergs
Result:2.5 Joules = 25,000,000 ergs (2.5e7 ergs)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the CGS system of units?
The CGS (centimeter-gram-second) system is a metric system of units based on three fundamental quantities: the centimeter for length, the gram for mass, and the second for time. Developed in the 19th century by Carl Friedrich Gauss and later formalized by the British Association for the Advancement of Science, it was the dominant scientific unit system before the SI (MKS) system was adopted in 1960. CGS units remain common in certain fields of physics, particularly astrophysics, electrodynamics, and some areas of condensed matter physics.
What is the difference between CGS and SI units?
The SI system uses meters, kilograms, and seconds as base units, while CGS uses centimeters, grams, and seconds. This leads to different derived units: force is measured in Newtons (SI) versus dynes (CGS), energy in Joules versus ergs, and pressure in Pascals versus baryes. The conversion factors follow from the base unit relationships: 1 Newton = 100,000 dynes, 1 Joule = 10,000,000 ergs, and 1 Pascal = 10 baryes. The SI system is now the international standard for commerce and most sciences.
Why do some scientists still use CGS units?
Several scientific fields continue using CGS units because key equations and constants take simpler forms in that system. In Gaussian CGS electrodynamics, the Coulomb constant equals 1 (dimensionless), eliminating the permittivity of free space from equations. Astrophysics uses CGS extensively because many fundamental relationships were first derived and tabulated in those units. Magnetic field measurements in Gauss (CGS) remain common alongside Tesla (SI). The inertia of published literature and familiar reference values also sustains CGS usage.
How do I convert between CGS and SI force units?
The CGS unit of force is the dyne, defined as the force needed to accelerate 1 gram by 1 cm/s2. The SI unit is the Newton, accelerating 1 kg by 1 m/s2. Since 1 kg = 1000 g and 1 m = 100 cm, one Newton equals 1000 x 100 = 100,000 dynes. For energy, 1 Joule = 1 Newton-meter = 100,000 dynes x 100 cm = 10,000,000 ergs. For pressure, 1 Pascal = 1 N/m2 = 100,000 dyn / 10,000 cm2 = 10 baryes.
Why do CGS to SI factors always come out as clean powers of ten?
Because both systems are decimal and differ only by 10^3 in mass and 10^2 in length. Write the dimensions of the quantity and the factor falls out. Force is M L T^-2, so the factor is 10^3 x 10^2 = 10^5 dynes per newton. Energy is M L^2 T^-2, giving 10^3 x 10^4 = 10^7 ergs per joule. Pressure is M L^-1 T^-2, giving 10^3 x 10^-2 = 10 baryes per pascal. If a factor you have looked up is not a power of ten, the quantity is either electromagnetic or the source has mixed in a non-metric unit.
How do gauss, maxwell and oersted relate to tesla and weber?
These are the CGS magnetic units still in daily use. One gauss is 10^-4 tesla, so the Earth's surface field of roughly a quarter to two-thirds of a gauss is 25 to 65 microtesla. Magnetic flux in maxwells converts as one maxwell equals 10^-8 weber, consistent with one gauss being one maxwell per square centimetre. Magnetic field strength H is measured in oersteds rather than amperes per metre. Laboratory magnets, MRI shim data and geophysical surveys are still routinely quoted in gauss, which is why the conversion keeps coming up.
What are the poise and the stokes used for?
They are the CGS viscosity units. The poise measures dynamic viscosity and equals one dyne-second per square centimetre, which is 0.1 pascal-second, so a centipoise is exactly one millipascal-second. That is a convenient scale because water near room temperature sits very close to one centipoise. The stokes measures kinematic viscosity, dynamic viscosity divided by density, and equals one square centimetre per second or 10^-4 square metres per second. Lubricant and polymer datasheets still quote centistokes far more often than SI equivalents.
What is a gal, and why does gravimetry prefer it?
The gal, named for Galileo, is the CGS unit of acceleration: one centimetre per second squared, which is 0.01 metres per second squared. Standard gravity of 9.80665 metres per second squared is therefore 980.665 gal. Gravity surveys work in milligals, one of which is 10^-5 metres per second squared, because that is the scale at which buried density contrasts, groundwater changes and ore bodies show up. Expressing the same anomalies in SI would mean carrying awkward strings of leading zeros through every field note.
Why are there several electromagnetic CGS variants?
Mechanical CGS is unambiguous, but electromagnetism is not, because CGS declines to add a fourth base unit for current. Instead the Coulomb constant is set to one, which forces charge to carry fractional dimensions and leaves room for different choices. The electrostatic system defines the statcoulomb, the electromagnetic system defines the abampere, the Gaussian system mixes the two and carries explicit factors of the speed of light, and Heaviside-Lorentz moves the 4 pi factors out of the field equations and into the Coulomb force law. That is why this converter covers mechanical quantities, where the mapping to SI is unique.
How big is an erg, and where is it a natural unit?
An erg is one dyne acting through one centimetre, which is 10^-7 joules, a genuinely tiny amount of energy: a 100 watt lamp radiates 10^9 ergs every second. It earns its place at the two extremes of physics. In atomic and particle work one electron-volt is about 1.602 x 10^-12 ergs, so binding energies land at convenient magnitudes. In astrophysics, luminosities and burst energies are conventionally quoted in ergs per second, with the Sun radiating on the order of 4 x 10^33 ergs per second.
References
Reviewed for accuracy by Manoj Kumar, Mathematics Educator ยท Editorial policy
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