The metre per second is the unit of both
speed
In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quant ...
(a
scalar quantity) and
velocity
Velocity is the directional speed of an object in motion as an indication of its rate of change in position as observed from a particular frame of reference and as measured by a particular standard of time (e.g. northbound). Velocity i ...
(a
vector quantity
In mathematics, physics, and engineering, a Euclidean vector or simply a vector (sometimes called a geometric vector or spatial vector) is a geometric object that has magnitude (or length) and direction. Vectors can be added to other vectors ac ...
, which has direction and magnitude) in the
International System of Units
The International System of Units, known by the international abbreviation SI in all languages and sometimes pleonastically as the SI system, is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most widely used system of measurement. ...
(SI), equal to the speed of a body covering a
distance
Distance is a numerical or occasionally qualitative measurement of how far apart objects or points are. In physics or everyday usage, distance may refer to a physical length or an estimation based on other criteria (e.g. "two counties over"). ...
of one
metre
The metre ( British spelling) or meter ( American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pre ...
in a time of one
second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ea ...
.
The
SI unit symbols are m/s, m·s
−1, m s
−1, or . Sometimes it is abbreviated as "mps".
Conversions
is equivalent to:
: = 3.6
km/h (exactly)
: ≈ 3.2808
feet per second (approximately)
: ≈ 2.2369
miles per hour (approximately)
: ≈ 1.9438
knots
A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines.
Knot may also refer to:
Places
* Knot, Nancowry, a village in India
Archaeology
* Knot of Isis (tyet), symbol of welfare/life.
* Minoan snake goddess figurines#Sacral knot
Arts, entertainme ...
(approximately)
1
foot per second = (exactly)
1
mile per hour = (exactly)
1
km/h = (exactly)
Relation to other measures
The benz, named in honour of
Karl Benz
Carl Friedrich Benz (; 25 November 1844 – 4 April 1929), sometimes also Karl Friedrich Benz, was a German engine designer and automotive engineer. His Benz Patent Motorcar from 1885 is considered the first practical modern automobile and fi ...
, has been proposed as a name for one metre per second.
Although it has seen some support as a practical unit,
primarily from German sources,
it was rejected as the SI unit of velocity
and has not seen widespread use or acceptance.
Unicode character
The "metre per second" symbol is encoded by
Unicode
Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, ...
at code point .
See also
*
Orders of magnitude (speed) To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following list describes various speed levels between approximately 2.2 m/s and 3.0 m/s (the speed of light). Values in bold are exact.
List of orders of magnitude for speed
See als ...
*
Metre per second squared
*
Metre
The metre ( British spelling) or meter ( American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pre ...
References
External links
Official BIPM definition of the metre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metre Per Second
Units of velocity
SI derived units