Standard gravity is the acceleration of a body in a vacuum at or near Earth’s surface, defined as 9.80665 m/s2. It is a function of force and mass, and can be expressed as 9.807 N/kg. Actual weight can vary based on location and adjustments for altitude, latitude, and Earth radius. The standard measurement was established in 1901 at the CGPM World Conference.
By definition, standard gravity is the acceleration of a body if it were in a vacuum at or near the surface of the Earth, and is defined numerically as 9.80665 meters per second squared (m/s2), which is 32.174 feet per second squared, and represented as g0 or gn. Standard gravity is the result of centrifugal acceleration and gravity. It is also known as the standard acceleration caused by free fall, standard acceleration due to gravity, and standard Earth gravity.
The standard gravity value (g0), rounded to 9.807 m/s2, represents an average value based on an object in free fall at sea level at 45 degrees latitude. The standard gravity constant is widely used for meteorological purposes, but the actual value varies based on the specific location of an object. The average acceleration at sea level on Earth is actually slightly less than 9.807 m/s2.
The international unit for standard gravity is meters per second squared, the same as that used for acceleration and specific force. The specific force is expressed in Newton per kilogram (N/kg). Thus, it becomes clear that standard gravity is a function of force, expressed in Newtons, and mass, expressed in kilograms. Therefore, the standard gravity can also be written as 9.807 N/kg. This representation shows that each kilogram of mass is associated with a standard gravitational field equivalent to 9,806 Newtons, which translates into what we refer to as weight on Earth.
The actual weight determination might be better calculated with special consideration for the local acceleration of gravity based on altitude or latitude. Adjustments for altitude, latitude, and Earth radius can be taken into account to show how an object will weigh more at higher latitudes than it would near the equator. This fact is largely due to the oblong shape of the Earth, which creates a weaker gravitational pull at the equator and stronger at the poles.
The standard measurement of gravity was established in 1901 at the third Conférence Génèrale des Poids et Mesures (CGPM). The CGPM World Conference met in 1901 to clarify the definitions of mass versus weight. The first conference began in 1889 in Paris and meets every four years to authorize metric measurements for the International System of Units and Measurements.
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