The concept of the force was essential to the development of mechanics and all of physics. A force is a "push" or "pull" experienced by a mass m when it is accelerated,

(1)

which is Newton's second law (with a the acceleration). In a gravitational field with gravitational acceleration g, a mass m therefore experiences a force

(2)

known as its weight.

The SI unit of force is the newton, equal to 1 kg m s^-2. The cgs unit of force is the dyne, and the British engineering unit of force is the pound (or, more explicitly, the pound-force). The kilopond is sometimes also used as a unit of force.

Dyne, Fictitious Force, Force Density, Frictional Force, Fundamental Forces, Generalized Force, Kilopond, Newton, Normal Force, Pound, Pound-Force, Tangential Force