Definition:FPS/Force/Pound Force

Definition

The pound force is a FPS unit of force.

It is defined as being:

The gravitational force exerted on a mass of one avoirdupois pound on the surface of Earth.

In this context, the value of the standard acceleration due to gravity is used, taken to be $32.17404 \, 9 \, \mathrm {ft} \, \mathrm s^{-2}$.

Conversion Factors

\(\ds \)

\(\)

\(\ds 1\)

pound force

\(\ds \)

\(=\)

\(\ds 32 \cdotp 17404 \, 9\)

poundals

\(\ds \)

\(\approx\)

\(\ds 4 \cdotp 44822\)

newtons

\(\ds \)

\(\approx\)

\(\ds 0 \cdotp 4536\)

kilogram force

Symbol

$\mathrm {lbf}$

The symbol for the pound force is $\mathrm {lbf}$.

The $\LaTeX$ code for \(\mathrm {lbf}\) is \mathrm {lbf} .

Also known as

Pound force can also be seen rendered in a hyphenated form: pound-force.

Some sources refer to it as the pound weight.

Sources

• 1969: J.C. Anderson, D.M. Hum, B.G. Neal and J.H. Whitelaw: Data and Formulae for Engineering Students (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): $1.$ Units and Abbreviations: $1.3$ British and other units
• 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): pound-force
• 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): pound-force