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Convert kn to m/s
1 kn = 0.514444444444 m/s
Type a value in knots and the answer in metres per second appears as you go. The conversion is exactly 0.514444444444 m/s to the knot, and it happens on your own machine — this page asks nothing of a server once it has loaded.
Where it runs
In your browser. The number you type is never part of a request.
Exact by definition
1 kn is exactly 0.514444444444 m/s — a definition, not a rounded factor.
Answers as you type
No button, no wait. The worked answer is already on the page before any script runs.
Knot and Metre per second
A knot is one nautical mile per hour, and a nautical mile is exactly 1,852 metres — originally one minute of latitude, so a knot relates speed directly to position on a chart. Its name comes from counting knots in a rope paid out behind a ship.
Metres per second is the SI unit and the one physics is done in, which is why it turns up in wind readings and in almost nothing a driver would look at.
knots to metres per second in practice
500 kn is 257.2 m/s
— an airliner at cruise.
10 kn is 5.144 m/s
— a sailing yacht moving well.
knots to metres per second at a glance
| kn | m/s |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.514444444444 |
| 2 | 1.02888888889 |
| 3 | 1.54333333333 |
| 5 | 2.57222222222 |
| 10 | 5.14444444444 |
| 20 | 10.2888888889 |
| 50 | 25.7222222222 |
| 100 | 51.4444444444 |
Every figure here is computed from the same definition the calculator uses, so the table cannot drift away from the answer above it.
Convert kn to m/s: common questions
How many metres per second are in a knot?
Exactly 0.514444444444. One knot is 0.514444444444 metres per second, and the box above will do it for any figure you type.
Is this conversion exact, or rounded?
The ratio is exact. It is not a rounded constant typed into a table: it is derived from the definitions of the two units, so it agrees with any other correct converter to as many digits as you care to compare.
Why does another converter show a slightly different number?
Almost always rounding rather than disagreement. Many converters cut the answer to two or four decimals, and some carry a factor that was rounded before the multiplication rather than after. The figures here are computed from the exact definitions and only rounded on the way to the screen.
Where these figures come from
The claims this page makes about speed units are checkable, and these are the documents that settle them.
How this page works
The factor is a constant in the page and the arithmetic is four operations, so nothing is sent anywhere and nothing needs to be. The number you type never leaves the browser — there is no request for it to travel in.