Convert meters per second to feet per second in a flash.

Ever wondered how fast a cheetah's sprint translates from scientific papers (which use m/s) to American wildlife documentaries (which prefer ft/s)? Or maybe you're an engineer working on a multinational project needing to convert wind tunnel data between these units? You're in the right place. Let's unravel the practical magic behind switching between meters per second and feet per second.

Unit definitions

What is a meter per second (m/s)?

Meters per second measures speed as the number of meters traveled in one second. It's the standard speed unit in the International System of Units (SI), used globally in science and engineering. You'll see it in weather reports for wind speeds, physics experiments, and European speed limit signs.

Symbol: m/s
Common uses: Scientific research, meteorology, automotive testing
Definition: 1 m/s = 3.6 km/h (exactly)

What is a foot per second (ft/s)?

Feet per second quantifies speed as feet covered each second. Primarily used in the United States, it appears in mechanical engineering specs, ballistics, and aviation. Fun fact: NASA used ft/s in Apollo mission documentation alongside metric units.

Symbol: ft/s
Common uses: Aerospace, manufacturing, sports analytics
Definition: 1 ft/s = 0.681818 miles per hour

Conversion formula

The golden rule for converting m/s to ft/s:
1 m/s = 3.28084 ft/s

Need to go the other way? Flip the equation:
1 ft/s = 0.3048 m/s

These exact conversion factors come from the international foot definition (1 foot = 0.3048 meters exactly). No approximations needed!

Example calculations

From m/s to ft/s
Let's convert Usain Bolt's record 12.4 m/s sprint:
12.4 m/s × 3.28084 = 40.682416 ft/s
That's faster than a greyhound's top speed of 39 ft/s!

From ft/s to m/s
Convert a baseball's 132 ft/s fastball:
132 ft/s ÷ 3.28084 = 40.2336 m/s
Now compare it to cricket bowl speeds measured in m/s.

Conversion tables

Meters per second to feet per second

Feet per second to meters per second

The story behind speed units

The meter's origin dates back to 1793 France, where it was defined as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole. This made the m/s a natural speed unit for scientific work. Feet, however, persisted in anglophone countries through tradition. The 1959 international yard agreement finally locked the foot to 0.3048 meters, creating an exact conversion between these seemingly unrelated units.

During the Space Race, this conversion became crucial. NASA engineers worked in ft/s while Soviet scientists used m/s. Mission control actually used both units during Apollo missions to benifit from international collaborations. Today, Airbus planes display speeds in both units for pilots trained in different systems.

Interesting facts

1. Human vs Animal: Average walking speed is 1.4 m/s (4.59 ft/s), while a peregrine falcon dives at 89 m/s (292 ft/s).
2. Extreme Speeds: The fastest land vehicle (ThrustSSC) hit 341 m/s (1,118 ft/s), breaking the sound barrier.
3. Cultural Speed: Japan's Shinkansen trains cruise at 83.3 m/s (186 mph), but their specs often list 300 km/h (83.3 m/s) and 273.4 ft/s.
4. Sports Analytics: Baseball pitchers' throws are measured in ft/s, while javelin throws use m/s for international consistency.
5. Weather Alerts: A Category 5 hurricane has winds over 70 m/s (154 kN), which converts to 229.7 ft/s.

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