Meter per second

The meter per second (symbol: m/s) is a unit derived from the International System, with the symbol m/s, for both speed (scalar magnitude) and velocity (vector magnitude). It is equivalent to the speed of a body that travels a distance of 1 meter in 1 second.

In the International System of Units it is expressed as «m/s», «m s⁻¹», «m s⁻¹”, or “m/s».

Conversions

• 559 m/s: the average speed of the 1996 registration reached by a Concorde that crossed the Atlantic.
• 1000 m/s: the speed of the bullet of a common rifle.
• 3×10⁸ m/s: approximately speed of light (299 792 458 m/s) ≈ 1,08×10⁹km/h.
• 10.4 m/s (37.44 km/h approx.): the fastest man's average timer in the world Usain Bolt in the 200-metre race, 2008 Olympics.
• 0,576 m/s: the speed of the film of a cinema camera that records 24 frames of 35 mm each second.

1 m/s is equivalent to:

= 3.6 km/h (accurate)

≈ 3,2808 Foot per second (approximate)

≈ 2,2369 miles per hour (approximately)

≈ 1,9438 knots (approximately)

1 Foot per second = 0.3048 m/s (exact)

1 miles per hour = 0.44704 m/s (exact)

1 km/h = 0.2 m/s (exact)

Dimension of Time

In this unit, the dimension of time appears in the denominator (m/s instead of m⋅s), so the expression "meter per second" means "one meter for every second", "one meter in every second" or even "one meter divided by second". Not to be confused with "one meter multiplied by second", which is not a unit of speed.