Convert Poundal (pdl) to Dalton (Da) instantly.
About these units
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.
Dalton (Da)
The Dalton is numerically identical to 1 atomic mass unit and is commonly used in biochemistry and molecular biology, especially for expressing the masses of proteins, peptides, and macromolecules. While "u" is often preferred in physics and chemistry, the Dalton became the standard in biological sciences because it fits neatly into descriptions of amino acids, nucleotides, and biomolecular complexes. For example, a typical protein may have a mass of 50 kilodaltons (kDa). The adoption of the Dalton helped unify communication across genomics, proteomics, and structural biology. As molecular biology expands into nanotechnology and synthetic biology, the Dalton remains a central unit for describing the building blocks of life.