Gregpry Peterson wrote in USMA 11313:
>Subject: Re: use of kgf rather than kN [[USMA:11297] Russia does NOT
> use miles (link)]
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>Very interesting web site. I was concerned with the use of "kgf" for
>measuring thrust rather than kilonewtons.
>Is this standard practice in metric engineering to use "kgf" in place of
>"lbf" and newtons?
I tracked down the kgf in
http://www.airlaunch.ru/english/project/specifications.htm
I was surprised. The kgf has been obsolete since 1960 when SI was
introduced. Evidently that Russian company would reply "But we have always
used kilogram-force".
By the way, if NASA had used kilogram-force instead of newton, the Mars
Climate Orbiter would not have crashed on the back side of Mars, but would
have have carried on in straighter course into outer space.
(Lochheed-Martin used pound-force in designing the ORBITER.)
Joseph B. Reid
17 Glebe Road West
Toronto M5P 1C8 Tel. 416 486-6071
