I fowarded this question to my physics instructor, Dr. Robert Sopka; here's his response: This is a collection of different quantities leading to one of those "oranges-and-apples" problems. So let's try to sort out what's what! Ok, here we go.... The term "g-force" is an unfortunate ambiguity often used by engineers. "g" is the ACCELERATION due to gravity, and if one is, for example, subjected to 3 g's, that means an ACCELERATION of 3 times 9.8 m/sec^2. Recall that the acceleration due to gravity is the rate at which gravity changes the velocity of a falling body. Now we come to FORCE. Newton says that F=ma, i.e. a net force acting on an object produces an acceleration in proportion to that object's mass. So FORCE is related to ACCELERATION, but they are not the same thing! To get a 10 kg object to experience a 3 g acceleration requires twice the force that a 5 kg object needs. Note that "kilograms" is a unit of mass - a measure of the amount of matter in an object, whereas "pounds" is a unit of weight - the force that gravity exerts on an object. So to try to put it all together, if an object experiences an aceleration of 3 g, one needs to know the mass (perhaps in kilograms) in order to compute the force (F=ma). That force can then be converted to units of pounds, upon looking up the appropriate conversion factor in your physics book. This is a good example of what happens when we get sloppy with definitions! See ya.... Sopka -----Original Message----- From: Jason Gregory [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2001 12:01 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [TN] Question for the physics "gurus" How do you convert pound/kilogram to G-force? Is this convertable? Since G-force is somewhat time derived and pound/kilogram is force derived? Any help is appreciated. Jason Gregory Software Specialist - NPI Group SCI Systems/Plant 2 13000 S. Memorial Pkwy. Huntsville, AL. 35803 (256) 882-4107 x3728 [log in to unmask] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---- ----- Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt delivery of Technet send the following message: SET Technet NOMAIL Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail Archives Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---- ----- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt delivery of Technet send the following message: SET Technet NOMAIL Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail Archives Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------