Convert Pound (lb) to Poundal (pdl) instantly.
About these units
Pound (lb)
The pound is a traditional unit of mass widely used in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in the United Kingdom. Defined as exactly 0.45359237 kilograms, the pound evolved from medieval English systems that themselves descended from Roman and Carolingian traditions. The pound is central to commerce, engineering, food measurement, and body weight scales in the US. Its widespread cultural presence makes it deeply familiar even in contexts where metric units dominate. Because the pound is part of a non-decimal system, subdivisions such as ounces (1/16 pound) introduce complexity, yet this structure persists due to tradition and embedded industrial standards. In engineering, the pound often appears alongside pound-force, making careful distinction between mass and force essential.
Poundal (pdl)
The poundal is the unit of force in the foot–pound–second (FPS) system, defined as the force that accelerates a one-pound mass at one foot per second squared. Although a force unit, it interacts with mass units in engineering contexts similarly to inertial mass units. Historically, poundals appeared in older physics textbooks and engineering references before the widespread adoption of SI units. Their use has declined dramatically, but they remain part of the history of classical mechanics education. The poundal exemplifies how many different systems attempted to rationalize force, mass, and acceleration before the international community converged on the SI newton.