Foot per Second to Centimeter per Second

Foot per second measures the number of feet traveled in one second. Commonly used in engineering, ballistics, and some sports in the United States.

1 ft/s = 0.3048 m/s exactly (by definition of the international foot). 1 ft/s = 0.6818 mph.

To m/s: × 0.3048. To km/h: × 1.097. To mph: × 0.682. To knots: × 0.592.

Bullet velocities (handgun: 800–1,200 ft/s; rifle: 2,500–4,000 ft/s), waterfall flow rates, industrial conveyor speeds, and skydiving terminal velocity (120 ft/s).

Speed of sound: 1,125 ft/s at sea level. Free fall: 32 ft/s² acceleration. Skydiver terminal velocity: 120 ft/s. Baseball pitch: 132 ft/s (90 mph).

Confusing ft/s with mph — 1 ft/s is only 0.68 mph, not 1 mph. Also, mixing up ft/s and ft/min in HVAC calculations.

1 ft/s ≈ 0.3 m/s or ≈ 1.1 km/h. Quick check: 100 ft/s ≈ 70 mph. Multiply ft/s by 0.68 for approximate mph.

Centimeter per second measures distance in centimeters traveled in one second. Common for small-scale movements and flows.

1 cm/s = 0.01 m/s = 0.036 km/h = 0.6 m/min.

To m/s: ÷ 100. To km/h: × 0.036. To mm/s: × 10.

Stream/river surface flow (10–200 cm/s), blood flow velocity in arteries (10–100 cm/s), small machine movements, and insect flight speeds.

Housefly speed: ~200 cm/s. Blood in aorta: ~40 cm/s. Small stream flow: 30–100 cm/s. Ant running: 1–3 cm/s.

Confusing cm/s with m/s — off by a factor of 100. Mixing up with mm/s.

100 cm/s = 1 m/s. Good for water flow, blood flow, and small animal speeds. Divide by 100 to get m/s.