Velocity Converter
Easily convert between different velocity units including kilometers per hour, meters per second, miles per hour, knots, feet per second, and more.
Velocity Units Explained
Velocity measurements are essential in transportation, physics, engineering, navigation, and many other fields. Different velocity units are used around the world, each with specific applications and contexts.
Common Velocity Units
| Unit | Symbol | Equivalent to 1 m/s | Common Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kilometers per hour | km/h | 3.6 km/h | Road speeds, most countries worldwide |
| Meters per second | m/s | 1 m/s | Scientific, SI unit |
| Miles per hour | mph | 2.237 mph | Road speeds in USA, UK, and some other countries |
| Knots | kn | 1.944 kn | Aviation, maritime navigation |
| Feet per second | ft/s | 3.281 ft/s | Engineering in the US, ballistics |
| Centimeters per second | cm/s | 100 cm/s | Scientific, small-scale movements |
| Kilometers per second | km/s | 0.001 km/s | Astronomy, celestial mechanics |
| Feet per minute | ft/min | 196.85 ft/min | Vertical speed in aviation, elevator speeds |
| Miles per second | mps | 0.000621 mps | Astronomy, satellite movements |
| Speed of light | c | 3.33564 × 10-9 c | Relativity, astronomy, particle physics |
Velocity Conversion Formulas
| Conversion | Formula |
|---|---|
| km/h to m/s | m/s = km/h × (1000/3600) |
| m/s to km/h | km/h = m/s × (3600/1000) |
| mph to km/h | km/h = mph × 1.60934 |
| km/h to mph | mph = km/h × 0.621371 |
| knots to km/h | km/h = knots × 1.852 |
| mph to m/s | m/s = mph × 0.44704 |
| knots to m/s | m/s = knots × 0.51444 |
| ft/s to m/s | m/s = ft/s × 0.3048 |
| m/s to ft/s | ft/s = m/s × 3.28084 |
| cm/s to m/s | m/s = cm/s × 0.01 |
| km/s to m/s | m/s = km/s × 1000 |
| ft/min to m/s | m/s = ft/min × 0.00508 |
| mps to m/s | m/s = mps × 1609.344 |
| c to m/s | m/s = c × 299792458 |
Important Velocity Reference Points
- Average walking pace: ~5 km/h = ~3.1 mph = ~1.4 m/s
- Average running pace: ~12 km/h = ~7.5 mph = ~3.3 m/s
- Highway speed limit (US): ~65-70 mph = ~105-113 km/h
- Speed of sound (at sea level): 343 m/s = 1,235 km/h = 767 mph
- Cruising speed of commercial aircraft: ~900 km/h = ~560 mph = ~250 m/s
- ISS orbital velocity: ~7.7 km/s = ~27,600 km/h = ~17,150 mph
- Earth's orbital velocity: ~29.8 km/s around the Sun
- Escape velocity (Earth): 11.2 km/s = 40,320 km/h = 25,000 mph
- Speed of light (c): 299,792,458 m/s = ~1.08 billion km/h = ~670.6 million mph
Advanced Velocity Units in Context
Centimeters per second (cm/s)
Used for measuring slow movements or velocities in small-scale experiments and scientific applications. Common in fluid dynamics and microfluidics research.
Kilometers per second (km/s)
Used primarily in astronomy and space science. Orbital velocities of planets, moons, and spacecraft are typically measured in kilometers per second. Earth orbits the Sun at about 29.8 km/s.
Feet per minute (ft/min)
Common in aviation to measure vertical speed (rate of climb or descent). Also used in HVAC engineering and for elevator speeds. Typical elevator speeds range from 100-500 ft/min.
Miles per second (mps)
Used in astronomy and astrophysics for very high velocities. The Earth orbits the Sun at approximately 18.5 miles per second. Light travels at about 186,282 miles per second in a vacuum.
Speed of light (c)
The universal speed limit according to Einstein's theory of relativity. Often used as a reference unit in relativistic physics and astronomy. Velocities of subatomic particles are commonly expressed as fractions of c.