Momentum converter
Convert momentum between metric and imperial units, and see what carries the same punch.
That's 1.02× as much momentum as a walking adult, while a cyclist is 6.2× more. Stopping that in one second takes about 100 N of force.
What it means
What carries that much?
Momentum is mass times velocity. Impulse, in newton-seconds, is the same quantity seen as a force acting over time.
Every unit
Your momentum in every unit
Learn
Three things worth knowing
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Momentum is conserved, energy is not
In any collision the total momentum before equals the total after. Kinetic energy disappears into noise, heat and bent metal.
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Newton’s "quantity of motion"
Newton wrote his second law in terms of momentum, not acceleration: force is the rate of change of the quantity of motion.
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A bullet has less than you think
A rifle bullet carries about 4 kg·m/s, less than a walking adult. Its damage comes from energy concentrated in a tiny area, not momentum.
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Popular momentum conversions
Background
About momentum units
Momentum is mass times velocity, measured in kg·m/s. The same number in newton-seconds is the impulse needed to create or destroy it, which is why airbags work: the same momentum spread over more time means less force.