Convert acceleration units — m/s², ft/s², g-force, Gal and more.
| Unit | Name | Value |
|---|---|---|
| m/s² | Meter/Square Second | 0.01 |
| cm/s² | Centimeter/Square Second | 1 |
| ft/s² | Foot/Square Second | 0.032808399 |
| in/s² | Inch/Square Second | 0.39370079 |
| g | Standard Gravity | 0.0010197162 |
| mG | Millig | 1.0197162 |
Formula: ft/s² = Gal × 0.03281
Multiply any Gal value by 0.03281 to get ft/s².
Reverse: Gal = ft/s² × 30.48
Common acceleration values — factor: 1 Gal = 0.03281 ft/s²
| Gal (Gal) | ft/s² (ft/s²) | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 0.001 Gal | 3.281e-05 ft/s² | μGal precision |
| 0.01 Gal | 0.0003281 ft/s² | Sub-mGal |
| 0.1 Gal | 0.003281 ft/s² | mGal geodesy |
| 1 Gal | 0.03281 ft/s² | 1 Gal |
| 10 Gal | 0.3281 ft/s² | 10 Gal |
| 98 Gal | 3.215 ft/s² | 0.1 g |
| 100 Gal | 3.281 ft/s² | 0.102 g |
| 162 Gal | 5.315 ft/s² | Moon surface |
| 370 Gal | 12.14 ft/s² | Mars surface |
| 490 Gal | 16.08 ft/s² | 0.5 g |
| 980.7 Gal | 32.18 ft/s² | 1 g Earth |
| 1962 Gal | 64.37 ft/s² | 2 g |
| 3700 Gal | 121.4 ft/s² | ~4 g |
| 9807 Gal | 321.8 ft/s² | ~10 g |
| 1e+05 Gal | 3281 ft/s² | ~102 g |
1 Gal = 0.03281 ft/s².
9.807 m/s² = 1 g = 32.17 ft/s² = 980.7 cm/s² — use as reference.
Multiply result by 30.48 to recover the original Gal 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.
The Gal (symbol: Gal) is a unit of acceleration equal to exactly 1 cm/s² = 0.01 m/s², named in honor of Galileo Galilei. It is the standard unit in geodesy and gravimetry, where small variations in Earth's gravitational field are measured.
Earth's mean gravitational acceleration is about 980 Gal (9.80 m/s²). Local variations due to geology, elevation, and latitude span about ±0.5 Gal. Modern superconducting gravimeters can detect variations smaller than 1 μGal (10⁻⁸ m/s²).
Interesting fact: Gravity surveys using Gal measurements can detect underground oil reservoirs, ore deposits, and aquifers because different materials have different densities — and thus different gravitational effects — without any drilling.
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.
Converting Gal to ft/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 Gal = 0.3281 ft/s². Reverse: 1 ft/s² = 30.48 Gal. Factor: 1 Gal = 0.03281 ft/s².
All conversions use IEEE 754 double-precision arithmetic, accurate to at least 8 significant figures.