Meter per second (British Spelling: metre per second) is an SI derived unit of both speed (scalar) and velocity (vector quantity which specifies both magnitude and a specific direction), defined by distance in meters divided by time in seconds.

This is the main unit of speed.

The official SI symbolic abbreviation is m·s⁻¹, or equivalently, m/sec; although the abbreviation mps is sometimes used colloquially, but is incorrect according to the BIPM. Where metres per second are several orders of magnitude too slow to be convenient, such as in astronomical measurements, velocities may be given in terms of kilometers per second, where 1 km/s is equivalent to 10³ meters per second.

[edit] Conversions

1 m/sec is equivalent to:

= 3.6 km·h⁻¹ (exactly)

≈ 3.2808 feet per second (approximately)

≈ 2.2369 miles per hour (approximately)

1 foot per second = 0.3048 m·s⁻¹ (exactly)

1 mile per hour ≈ 0.4471 m·s⁻¹ (approximately)

1 km·h^-1 ≈ 0.2778 m·s⁻¹ (approximately)

1 kilometer per second is equivalent to:

≈ 0.6213 miles per second (approximately)

≈ 2237 miles per hour (approximate)

[edit] Relation to other measures

Although m·s⁻¹ is an SI derived unit, it could be viewed as more fundamental than the meter, since the latter is derived from the speed of light in a vacuum, which is defined as exactly 299 792 458 m·s⁻¹ by the BIPM^[1]. It follows that one metre is the length of the path travelled by light in a vacuum during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of one second.

[edit] See also

• Kilometer per hour
• Orders of magnitude (speed)
• Metere
• Second

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official BIPM definition of the meter
• Official BIPM definition of the second