Orders of magnitude (force)

Examples of force.

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.

Below 1 N

Factor (N)	Value	Item
10−47	3.6×10−17 qN	Gravitational attraction of the proton and the electron in hydrogen atom<ref name="Hugh D. Young 1992">Hugh D. Young, University Physics 4th Ed, 1992, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co, Inc.</ref>
10−30 quectonewton (qN)	8.9 qN	Weight of an electron<ref name="Hugh D. Young 1992"/>
10−26	16 rN	Weight of a hydrogen atom<ref name="Hugh D. Young 1992"/>
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<ref>Knünz, S.; Herrmann, M.; Batteiger, V.; Saathoff, G.; Hänsch, T.; Vahala, K.; Udem, T. (2010). "Injection Locking of a Trapped-Ion Phonon Laser" (PDF). Physical Review Letters. 105 (1): 013004. Bibcode:2010PhRvL.105a3004K. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.013004. PMID 20867440.</ref><ref>"Single atoms for detecting extremely weak forces". Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics. Archived from the original on 2010-08-26. Retrieved 2010-09-02.</ref>
10−22	170 yN	Force measured in a 2010 experiment by perturbing 60 beryllium-9 ions<ref>Brumfiel, G. (2010). "Scientists measure atomic nudge". Nature. doi:10.1038/news.2010.187.</ref><ref>M. J. Biercuk; H. Uys; J. W. Britton; A. P. VanDevender; J. J. Bollinger (9 Apr 2010). "Ultrasensitive detection of force and displacement using trapped ions". Nature Nanotechnology. 5 (9): 646–650. arXiv:1004.0780. Bibcode:2010NatNa...5..646B. doi:10.1038/NNANO.2010.165. PMID 20729835. S2CID 119244588. detection of forces as small as 174 yN</ref>
10−15 femtonewton (fN)
10−14	~10 fN	Brownian motion force on an E. coli bacterium averaged over 1 second<ref name=picotwist_forces>"Forces involved at the biological level". PicoTwist. Retrieved 30 December 2011.</ref>
	~10 fN	Weight of an E. coli bacterium<ref>"E. coli Statistics". The CyberCell Database. Archived from the original on 2011-10-27. Retrieved 2011-09-11.</ref><ref>Calculated: weight = mass * g = 1e-15 kg * 9.81 m/s^2 = 1e-14 N</ref>
10−13	~100 fN	Force to stretch double-stranded DNA to 50% relative extension<ref name=picotwist_forces />
10−12 piconewton (pN)	~4 pN	Force to break a hydrogen bond<ref name=picotwist_forces />
	~5 pN	Maximum force of a molecular motor<ref name=picotwist_forces />
10−11
10−10	~160 pN	Force to break a typical noncovalent bond<ref name=picotwist_forces />
10−9 nanonewton (nN)	~1.6 nN	Force to break a typical covalent bond<ref name=picotwist_forces />
10−8	8.2×10−8 N	Force on an electron in a hydrogen atom<ref name="Hugh D. Young 1992"/>
10−7	2×10−7 N	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<ref>"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-12. Retrieved 2009-01-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)</ref>
10−4
10−3 millinewton (mN)
10−2	19-92 mN	Thrust of the NSTAR ion engine tested on NASA's space probe Deep Space 1<ref>"NSTAR Ion Thruster". NASA. Archived from the original on 11 January 2003. Retrieved 9 January 2012. thrust from 19 mN to 92 mN</ref>
10−1

1 N and above

Magnitude	Value	Item
1 N	1.4 N	The weight of a smartphone<ref>"How Much Does Your Smartphone Really Weigh?". 15 December 2016.</ref><ref>https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3097/fs2006-3097.pdf</ref>
	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<ref name=NIST_units>"Appendix B8—Factors for Units Listed Alphabetically". NIST Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI). NIST. 2 July 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2012.</ref>
10 N	50 N	Average force to break the shell of a chicken egg from a young hen<ref>Damme, Klaus (2020). Geflügeljahrbuch 2021. Stuttgart, Germany: Eugen Ulmer KG. pp. 262–281. ISBN 978-3-8186-1186-6.</ref>
102 N	720 N	Average force of human bite, measured at molars<ref>Houston T E, Bite Force and Bite Pressure: Comparisons of Humans and Dogs, 2003 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-01-24. Retrieved 2016-02-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)</ref>
103 N kilonewton (kN)	5 kN	The force applied by the engine of a small car during peak acceleration
	8 kN	The maximum force achieved by weight lifters during a 'clean and jerk' lift<ref>The Human Machine By R. McNeill Alexander, Mark Iley, Sally Alexander</ref> (During the clean part)
	9 kN	The bite force of one adult American alligator<ref>Erickson, G. M.; Lappin, A. K.; Vliet, K. A. (2003). "The ontogeny of bite-force performance in American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)" (PDF). Journal of Zoology. 260 (3): 317. doi:10.1017/S0952836903003819. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-07. 9452 N</ref>
104 N	16.5 kN	The bite force of a 5.2 m (17 ft) saltwater crocodile<ref>"Crocodiles Have Strongest Bite Ever Measured, Hands-on Tests Show". Retrieved 15 March 2012. The "winners"—saltwater crocodiles—slammed their jaws shut with 3,700 pounds per square inch (psi), or 16,460 newtons, of bite force.</ref>
	18 kN	The estimated bite force of a 6.1 m (20 ft) adult great white shark<ref>"Great White Tops List of Hardest-Biting Sharks". Discovery News. Discovery Channel. Retrieved 21 January 2012. a bite force of 9,320 Newton at the tip of its jaws and 18,216 N at the back of its jaws</ref>
	25 kN	Approximate force applied by the motors of a Tesla Model S during maximal acceleration<ref>Calculated from maximum acceleration of 1.22 g and kerb mass of 2,050 kg (4,520 lb).</ref>
	25.5 to 34.5 kN	The estimated bite force of a large 6.7 m (22 ft) adult saltwater crocodile<ref>Erickson, Gregory M.; Gignac, Paul M.; Steppan, Scott J.; Lappin, A. Kristopher; Vliet, Kent A.; Brueggen, John D.; Inouye, Brian D.; Kledzik, David; Webb, Grahame J. W. (2012). "Insights into the Ecology and Evolutionary Success of Crocodilians Revealed through Bite-Force and Tooth-Pressure Experimentation". PLOS ONE. 7 (3): e31781. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...731781E. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031781. PMC 3303775. PMID 22431965. 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).</ref>
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<ref>Lawrence Weinstein and John A. Adams, Guesstimation, 2008, Section 6.3.1</ref>
	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<ref name="Hugh D. Young 1992"/>
106 N meganewton (MN)	1.8 MN	Thrust of Space Shuttle Main Engine at lift-off<ref name="P&WFS">"Space Shuttle Main Engine". Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2013. 109% power level at sea level: 418,000 lb</ref><ref name="EASSME">Wade, Mark. "SSME". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on June 26, 2002. Retrieved 27 October 2011. Launches normally used 104% ... as a maximum</ref><ref>Calculated: 418000 lbf * 4.45 N/lbf * (104% launch power level / 109%) = 1.77e6 N.</ref>
	1.9 MN	Weight of the largest Blue Whale<ref name="Hugh D. Young 1992"/>
107 N	35 MN	Thrust of Saturn V rocket at lift-off<ref>"What Was the Saturn V?". NASA. Archived from the original on 10 November 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2012. The rocket generated 34.5 million newtons ... of thrust at launch</ref>
108 N	570 MN	Simplistic estimate of force of sunlight on Earth<ref>1.63 x 10−14 x gravitational attraction between Earth and Sun, assuming total absorption of sunlight Sunlight Exerts Pressure, NASA Glenn LTP Math & Science Resources</ref>
109 N giganewton (GN)
1020 N	200 EN	Gravitational attraction between Earth and Moon<ref>"The Earth-Moon Equations". Archived from the original on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2009-01-09.</ref>
1022 N	35 ZN	Gravitational attraction between Earth and Sun<ref name="imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov">NASA.gov</ref>
1029 N	≈450 RN	Gravitational attraction between our Galaxy and Andromeda Galaxy<ref>Calculated from known masses (both ×1012 kg) at a distance of 2.5 Mly.</ref>
1044 N	1.2 (1014) QN	Planck force