The following list shows different orders of magnitude of force.
Since weight under gravity is a force, several of these examples refer to the weight of various objects. Unless otherwise stated, these are weights under average Earth gravity at sea level.
| Factor (N) | Value | Item |
|---|---|---|
| 10−47 | 3.6×10−17 qN | Gravitational attraction of the proton and the electron in hydrogen atom [1] |
| 10−30 quectonewton (qN) | 8.9 qN | Weight of an electron [1] |
| 10−26 | 16 rN | Weight of a hydrogen atom [1] |
| 10−24 yoctonewton (yN) | 5 yN | Force necessary to synchronize the motion of a single trapped ion with an external signal measured in a 2010 experiment [2] [3] |
| 10−22 | 170 yN | Force measured in a 2010 experiment by perturbing 60 beryllium-9 ions [4] [5] |
| 10−18 attonewton (aN) | ||
| 10−17 | 30 aN | Smallest force of gravity measured [6] [7] |
| 10−15 femtonewton (fN) | ||
| 10−14 | ~10 fN | Brownian motion force on an E. coli bacterium averaged over 1 second [8] |
| ~10 fN | Weight of an E. coli bacterium [9] [10] | |
| 10−13 | ~100 fN | Force to stretch double-stranded DNA to 50% relative extension [8] |
| 10−12 piconewton (pN) | ~4 pN | Force to break a hydrogen bond [8] |
| ~5 pN | Maximum force of a molecular motor [8] | |
| 10−11 | ||
| 10−10 | ~160 pN | Force to break a typical noncovalent bond [8] |
| 10−9 nanonewton (nN) | ~1.6 nN | Force to break a typical covalent bond [8] |
| 10−8 | ~82nN | Force on an electron in a hydrogen atom [1] |
| 10−7 | ~200nN | Force between two 1 meter long conductors, 1 meter apart by an outdated definition of one ampere |
| 10−6 micronewton (μN) | 1–150 μN | Output of FEEP ion thrusters used in NASA's Laser Interferometer Space Antenna [11] |
| 10−4 | ||
| 10−3 millinewton (mN) | 2-4 mN | EQUULEUS § Propulsion |
| 10−2 | 19-92 mN | Thrust of the NSTAR ion engine tested on NASA's space probe Deep Space 1 [12] |
| 10−1 | ||
| Magnitude | Value | Item |
|---|---|---|
| 1 N | 1.4 N | The weight of a smartphone [13] [14] |
| 2.5 N | Typical thrust of a Dual-Stage 4-Grid ion thruster. | |
| 9.8 N | One kilogram-force, nominal weight of a 1 kg (2.2 lb) object at sea level on Earth [15] | |
| 10 N | 50 N | Average force to break the shell of a chicken egg from a young hen [16] |
| 102 N | 720 N | Average force of human bite, measured at molars [17] |
| 103 N kilonewton (kN) | 5 kN | The force applied by the engine of a small car during peak acceleration[ citation needed ] |
| 8 kN | The maximum force achieved by weight lifters during a 'clean and jerk' lift [18] (During the clean part) | |
| 9 kN | The bite force of one adult American alligator [19] | |
| 104 N | 16.5 kN | The bite force of a 5.2 m (17 ft) saltwater crocodile [20] |
| 18 kN | The estimated bite force of a 6.1 m (20 ft) adult great white shark [21] | |
| 25 kN | Approximate force applied by the motors of a Tesla Model S during maximal acceleration [22] | |
| 25.5 to 34.5 kN | The estimated bite force of a large 6.7 m (22 ft) adult saltwater crocodile [23] | |
| 105 N | 100 kN | The average force applied by seatbelt and airbag to a restrained passenger in a car which hits a stationary barrier at 100 km/h [24] |
| 569 kN | Maximum thrust of a large turbofan engine (General Electric GE90) | |
| 890 kN | Maximum pulling force (tractive effort) of a single large diesel-electric locomotive [1] | |
| 106 N meganewton (MN) | 1.8 MN | Thrust of Space Shuttle Main Engine at lift-off [25] [26] [27] |
| 1.9 MN | Weight of the largest blue whale [1] | |
| 107 N | 35 MN | Thrust of Saturn V rocket at lift-off [28] |
| 108 N | 570 MN | Simplistic estimate of force of sunlight on Earth [29] |
| 109 N giganewton (GN) | 8.99 GN | Force between two charges of 1 coulomb placed 1 meter apart |
| 1020 N | 200 EN | Gravitational attraction between Earth and Moon [30] |
| 1022 N | 35 ZN | Gravitational attraction between Earth and Sun [31] |
| 1029 N | ≈810 RN | Gravitational attraction between our Galaxy and Andromeda Galaxy [32] |
| 1044 N | 1.2×1014 QN | Planck force |
detection of forces as small as 174 yN
thrust from 19 mN to 92 mN
The "winners"—saltwater crocodiles—slammed their jaws shut with 3,700 pounds per square inch (psi), or 16,460 newtons, of bite force.
a bite force of 9,320 Newton at the tip of its jaws and 18,216 N at the back of its jaws
scientifically documented 6.7-meter long Crocodylus porosus individuals were likely capable of molariform bite forces of approximately 27,531 N to 34,424 N (6,187 to 7,736 lbs).
109% power level at sea level: 418,000 lb
Launches normally used 104% ... as a maximum
The rocket generated 34.5 million newtons ... of thrust at launch
