Poundal to Dyne Converter

A poundal (pdl) is a unit of force in the foot-pound-second (FPS) system, defined as the force required to accelerate a mass of one pound at a rate of one foot per second squared. It equals approximately 0.138 newtons.

The poundal was introduced in 1879 as part of the foot-pound-second system to provide a force unit based on fundamental physical principles rather than gravitational force. It was designed to be the imperial equivalent of the newton but never achieved widespread adoption.

Poundals are rarely used in modern applications, appearing mainly in historical engineering literature and some specialized physics contexts. They've been largely replaced by pound-force in practical applications and newtons in scientific work.

A dyne (dyn) is a unit of force in the centimeter-gram-second (CGS) system, defined as the force required to accelerate a mass of one gram at a rate of one centimeter per second squared. It equals 10⁻⁵ newtons.

The dyne was developed as part of the CGS unit system in the late 19th century. It was widely used in physics and engineering before the adoption of SI units, particularly in mechanics and electromagnetic calculations where CGS units were preferred.

Dynes are rarely used in modern applications, appearing mainly in historical scientific literature and some specialized physics contexts. They've been largely replaced by newtons in all practical applications, though they may still appear in some older scientific references.