Foot per Second to Mach (20°C, 1 atm)

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.

Mach number is the ratio of an object's speed to the speed of sound in the surrounding medium. Mach 1 at 20°C, 1 atm equals approximately 343.6 m/s (1,235 km/h).

Mach = velocity ÷ speed_of_sound. At 20°C: Mach 1 = 343.6 m/s. Speed of sound = √(γRT/M) where γ = heat capacity ratio.

To m/s (at 20°C): × 343.6. To km/h (at 20°C): × 1,237. Note: changes with altitude and temperature.

Fighter jets (Mach 1.5–2.5), commercial aircraft (Mach 0.8–0.85), space shuttle reentry (Mach 25), and missile speeds.

Concorde: Mach 2.04. SR-71 Blackbird: Mach 3.3. X-15: Mach 6.7. Meteorites enter at Mach 50+. Subsonic <1, supersonic >1, hypersonic >5.

Thinking Mach is constant — it varies with temperature/altitude. At 30,000 ft, Mach 1 ≈ 295 m/s (colder air = slower sound).

Mach 1 = speed of sound. Below Mach 1 = subsonic. Mach 1–5 = supersonic. Above Mach 5 = hypersonic. It's a ratio, not a fixed speed.