Convert acceleration units — m/s², ft/s², g-force, Gal and more.
| Unit | Name | Value |
|---|---|---|
| m/s² | Meter/Square Second | 0.3048 |
| cm/s² | Centimeter/Square Second | 30.48 |
| in/s² | Inch/Square Second | 12 |
| g | Standard Gravity | 0.03108095 |
| Gal | Gal (cm/s²) | 30.48 |
| mG | Millig | 31.08095 |
Formula: cm/s² = ft/s² × 30.48
Multiply any ft/s² value by 30.48 to get cm/s².
Reverse: ft/s² = cm/s² × 0.03281
Common acceleration values — factor: 1 ft/s² = 30.48 cm/s²
| ft/s² (ft/s²) | cm/s² (cm/s²) | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 0.001 ft/s² | 0.03048 cm/s² | Micro |
| 0.1 ft/s² | 3.048 cm/s² | Very small |
| 1 ft/s² | 30.48 cm/s² | 1 ft/s² |
| 5 ft/s² | 152.4 cm/s² | 5 ft/s² |
| 10 ft/s² | 304.8 cm/s² | 10 ft/s² |
| 16.1 ft/s² | 490.7 cm/s² | Half g |
| 20 ft/s² | 609.6 cm/s² | 0.62 g |
| 32.17 ft/s² | 980.5 cm/s² | 1 g Earth |
| 50 ft/s² | 1524 cm/s² | 1.55 g |
| 100 ft/s² | 3048 cm/s² | 3.1 g |
| 161 ft/s² | 4907 cm/s² | 5 g fighter |
| 289 ft/s² | 8809 cm/s² | 9 g max pilot |
| 322 ft/s² | 9815 cm/s² | ~10 g |
| 1000 ft/s² | 3.048e+04 cm/s² | ~31 g |
| 1e+04 ft/s² | 3.048e+05 cm/s² | ~311 g |
1 ft/s² = 30.48 cm/s².
9.807 m/s² = 1 g = 32.17 ft/s² = 980.7 cm/s² — use as reference.
Multiply result by 0.03281 to recover the original ft/s² value.
Specifies aircraft and spacecraft acceleration loads in g and m/s² for structural design and pilot tolerance.
Measures vehicle acceleration performance (0–100 km/h) and braking deceleration in m/s² and g.
Uses Gal and mGal to measure variations in Earth's gravitational field for mineral exploration.
Programs joint acceleration limits in m/s² or in/s² for servo motor control and trajectory planning.
Calculates seismic acceleration loads (in g or m/s²) for earthquake-resistant building design.
Measures athlete acceleration performance using accelerometers reporting in g or m/s².
Feet per second squared (ft/s²) is the Imperial acceleration unit, equal to 0.3048 m/s². It is used in US aerospace, ballistics, and mechanical engineering where calculations are performed in the Imperial foot-pound-second (FPS) system.
Standard gravity in ft/s² = 32.174 ft/s². Aerospace trajectory calculations, aircraft performance charts, and US military ballistics tables traditionally use ft/s². A car accelerating at 1g experiences approximately 32.2 ft/s².
Interesting fact: The original definition of the foot varied across different countries and trades (Roman foot, English foot, survey foot) until the International Foot was standardized as exactly 0.3048 meters in 1959.
Centimeters per second squared (cm/s²) is the CGS unit of acceleration, equal to exactly 0.01 m/s². The Gal (named after Galileo) is exactly 1 cm/s² and is the standard unit in gravimetry and geophysics.
Gravimeters measure local variations in Earth's gravitational acceleration in milligals (mGal) and microgals (μGal). Earth's gravity varies by about ±0.5 Gal (50 cm/s²) between the equator and poles due to Earth's shape and rotation.
Interesting fact: The Gal unit honors Galileo Galilei, who first quantified free-fall acceleration in the late 16th century using inclined planes and water clocks — without any precise timing instruments, he determined that distance fallen is proportional to the square of time.
Converting ft/s² to cm/s² is common in aerospace, automotive, geophysics, and robotics. Physics and SI engineering use m/s²; US aerospace uses ft/s²; geophysics uses Gal (cm/s²); and g-force is universal. Key anchor: Earth surface gravity = 9.807 m/s² = 1 g = 32.17 ft/s² = 980.7 Gal.
Quick reference: 10 ft/s² = 304.8 cm/s². Reverse: 1 cm/s² = 0.03281 ft/s². Factor: 1 ft/s² = 30.48 cm/s².
All conversions use IEEE 754 double-precision arithmetic, accurate to at least 8 significant figures.