Dynes to Newtons: 1 dyn equals 1.00000e-5 N. To convert dynes to newtons, multiply by 1.00000e-5 (N = dyn × 0.00001). For example, 10 dyn = 0.0001 N.
How to Convert Dynes to Newtons
To convert from dynes to newtons, multiply the value by 1.00000e-5. The conversion is linear, meaning doubling the input doubles the output.
Conversion Formula
- Dynes to Newtons:
N = dyn × 0.00001 - Newtons to Dynes:
dyn = N ÷ 0.00001
Dynes to Newtons Conversion Chart
| Dynes (dyn) | Newtons (N) |
|---|---|
| 0.1 | 1.00000e-6 |
| 0.25 | 2.50000e-6 |
| 0.5 | 5.00000e-6 |
| 1 | 1.00000e-5 |
| 2 | 2.00000e-5 |
| 3 | 3.00000e-5 |
| 5 | 5.00000e-5 |
| 10 | 0.0001 |
| 20 | 0.0002 |
| 25 | 0.00025 |
| 50 | 0.0005 |
| 100 | 0.001 |
| 250 | 0.0025 |
| 1000 | 0.01 |
Understanding the Units
What is a Dyne?
A dyne equals exactly 10⁻⁵ newtons — the CGS unit of force, defined as the force needed to accelerate one gram by one centimeter per second squared.
Common contexts: surface tension, older physics texts.
What is a Newton?
The newton is the SI derived unit of force, equal to the force needed to accelerate one kilogram by one meter per second squared (1 N = 1 kg·m/s²).
Named after Sir Isaac Newton (1643–1727), whose three laws of motion underpin classical mechanics.
Common contexts: mechanics, engineering.
Real-World Reference Points
| Item | Dynes (dyn) | Newtons (N) |
|---|---|---|
| Weight of an apple (≈100 g) | 100000 | 1 |
| Weight of 1 kg on Earth | 981000 | 9.81 |
How to Convert Dynes to Newtons
To convert dynes to newtons, divide by 100,000 — equivalently, multiply by 10⁻⁵. The dyne is the CGS unit of force, defined as the force that accelerates a one-gram mass at one centimetre per second squared. Because the SI newton uses kilograms and metres in place of grams and centimetres, one newton equals exactly 100,000 dynes.
Conversion Formula
- Dynes to Newtons: N = dyn ÷ 100,000
- Newtons to Dynes: dyn = N × 100,000
- Scientific notation: 1 dyn = 1 × 10⁻⁵ N
The factor is exact. It falls out of the SI/CGS base-unit relations: kg → g is ×1,000 and m → cm is ×100, so kg·m/s² → g·cm/s² is ×100,000.
Common Conversions
| Dynes (dyn) | Newtons (N) | Real-World Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.00001 | ~1 mg weight at sea level |
| 10 | 0.0001 | 10 mg pellet |
| 100 | 0.001 | 100 mg pinch of salt |
| 981 | 0.00981 | 1 gram-force on Earth |
| 1,000 | 0.01 | ~1 g weight |
| 5,000 | 0.05 | weight of a US nickel |
| 9,807 | 0.0981 | 10 gram-force on Earth |
| 50,000 | 0.5 | weight of a small candy bar |
| 98,066 | 0.9807 | 100 gram-force on Earth |
| 100,000 | 1 | weight of a small apple |
| 500,000 | 5 | weight of a half-kg bag of rice |
| 1,000,000 | 10 | weight of 1 kg on Earth |
| 5,000,000 | 50 | 5 kg dumbbell |
| 10,000,000 | 100 | weight of a 10 kg parcel |
Understanding the Units
What Is a Dyne?
The dyne (symbol: dyn) is the unit of force in the centimetre-gram-second (CGS) system. It is defined as the force that accelerates one gram of mass at one centimetre per second squared: 1 dyn = 1 g·cm/s². The dyne was introduced in 1873 by the British Association for the Advancement of Science as part of the CGS overhaul of physical units. The name comes from the Greek dynamis (power, force) — the same root as dynamics.
What Is a Newton?
The newton (symbol: N) is the SI derived unit of force. It is defined as the force needed to accelerate a one-kilogram mass at one metre per second squared: 1 N = 1 kg·m/s². The unit was adopted by the 9th General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1948 and bears the name of Sir Isaac Newton, whose 1687 Principia set out the second law of motion that defines it.
CGS vs SI Force Units
The two unit systems track each other by powers of ten:
- 1 N (SI) = 100,000 dyn (CGS)
- 1 J (SI, energy) = 10,000,000 erg (CGS)
- 1 Pa (SI, pressure) = 10 barye (CGS)
- 1 kg (SI mass) = 1,000 g (CGS mass)
Surface Tension and the Persistence of the Dyne
The dyne lives on most prominently in surface chemistry, where surface tension is quoted in dyn/cm (equivalent to mN/m). Some reference values:
| Liquid (at ~20 °C) | Surface Tension (dyn/cm) | mN/m |
|---|---|---|
| Ethanol | 22.3 | 22.3 |
| Acetone | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| Olive oil | 32.0 | 32.0 |
| Glycerol | 63.4 | 63.4 |
| Pure water | 72.8 | 72.8 |
| Mercury | 485.5 | 485.5 |
Because 1 dyn/cm equals exactly 1 mN/m, the numerical values are identical in either notation. The dyne also persists in viscosity (poise = dyn·s/cm²), magnetism (gauss for older lab notes), and astrophysical pressure calculations carried over from earlier literature.
Related Force Converters
- Newtons to Dynes — the reverse direction
- Dynes to Millinewtons — closer-scale SI prefix
- Dynes to Grams-force — gravitational comparison
- Dynes to Pound-force — imperial equivalent
- Dynes to Kilonewtons — bridge to engineering scale
Brief History of the Dyne
The dyne was standardised in 1873 by a committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science chaired by William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) and James Clerk Maxwell. The committee built the CGS system to give physics a coherent set of small, lab-scale units. The dyne and its companions (erg for energy, gauss for magnetic field, poise for viscosity) dominated physics literature into the 1950s.
The SI system, finalised in 1960, replaced CGS in most disciplines, but several CGS units survived in specialised fields. The dyne's continued use in surface science is partly cultural — older datasets read in dyn/cm — and partly numerical, since the dyn/cm value for common liquids lands conveniently between 20 and 80 without scientific notation.