Standard Gravity
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The standard acceleration due to gravity (or standard acceleration of free fall), sometimes abbreviated as standard gravity, usually denoted by or , is the nominal gravitational acceleration of an object in a vacuum near the surface of the
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surf ...
. It is defined by standard as . This value was established by the 3rd
CGPM The General Conference on Weights and Measures (GCWM; french: Conférence générale des poids et mesures, CGPM) is the supreme authority of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), the intergovernmental organization established i ...
(1901, CR 70) and used to define the standard weight of an object as the product of its mass and this nominal
acceleration In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnitude and direction). The orientation of an object's acceleration is given by ...
. The acceleration of a body near the surface of the Earth is due to the combined effects of gravity and centrifugal acceleration from the rotation of the Earth (but the latter is small enough to be negligible for most purposes); the total (the apparent gravity) is about 0.5% greater at the
poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...
than at the
Equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...
. Although the symbol is sometimes used for standard gravity, (without a suffix) can also mean the local acceleration due to local gravity and centrifugal acceleration, which varies depending on one's position on Earth (see Earth's gravity). The symbol should not be confused with , the
gravitational constant The gravitational constant (also known as the universal gravitational constant, the Newtonian constant of gravitation, or the Cavendish gravitational constant), denoted by the capital letter , is an empirical physical constant involved in ...
, or g, the symbol for gram. The is also used as a unit for any form of
acceleration In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnitude and direction). The orientation of an object's acceleration is given by ...
, with the value defined as above; see
g-force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measure ...
. The value of defined above is a nominal midrange value on Earth, originally based on the acceleration of a body in free fall at sea level at a
geodetic latitude Geodetic coordinates are a type of curvilinear orthogonal coordinate system used in geodesy based on a '' reference ellipsoid''. They include geodetic latitude (north/south) , ''longitude'' (east/west) , and ellipsoidal height (also known as g ...
of 45°. Although the actual acceleration of free fall on Earth varies according to location, the above standard figure is always used for metrological purposes. In particular, since it is the ratio of the kilogram-force and the
kilogram The kilogram (also kilogramme) is the unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), having the unit symbol kg. It is a widely used measure in science, engineering and commerce worldwide, and is often simply called a kilo colloquially ...
, its numeric value when expressed in coherent SI units is the ratio of the kilogram-force and the
newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...
, two units of force.


History

Already in the early days of its existence, the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) proceeded to define a standard thermometric scale, using the
boiling point The boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid equals the pressure surrounding the liquid and the liquid changes into a vapor. The boiling point of a liquid varies depending upon the surrounding env ...
of water. Since the boiling point varies with the
atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibar ...
, the CIPM needed to define a standard atmospheric pressure. The definition they chose was based on the weight of a column of
mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...
of 760 mm. But since that weight depends on the local gravity, they now also needed a standard gravity. The 1887 CIPM meeting decided as follows: All that was needed to obtain a numerical value for standard gravity was now to measure the gravitational strength at the International Bureau. This task was given to Gilbert Étienne Defforges of the Geographic Service of the French Army. The value he found, based on measurements taken in March and April 1888, was 9.80991(5) m⋅s−2. This result formed the basis for determining the value still used today for standard gravity. The third
General Conference on Weights and Measures The General Conference on Weights and Measures (GCWM; french: Conférence générale des poids et mesures, CGPM) is the supreme authority of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), the intergovernmental organization established i ...
, held in 1901, adopted a resolution declaring as follows: The numeric value adopted for was, in accordance with the 1887 CIPM declaration, obtained by dividing Defforges's result – 980.991 cm⋅s−2 in the cgs system then ''en vogue'' – by 1.0003322 while not taking more digits than warranted considering the uncertainty in the result.


Conversions


See also

*
Gravity of Earth The gravity of Earth, denoted by , is the net acceleration that is imparted to objects due to the combined effect of gravitation (from mass distribution within Earth) and the centrifugal force (from the Earth's rotation). It is a vector quanti ...
* Seconds pendulum * Theoretical gravity


References

{{reflist Physical quantities Gravity Units of acceleration