Units of measurement.

[Deltac]

This has been bugging me, but what are all the units for measurement used in KSP? I know what speed is (says it right there), and height, and diameter of rockets (though that seems slightly implied, but works all the same). What about the thrust for our engines? pounds, newtons, so on and so forth? I'm also now wondering how many times this has been posted >_>

[sal_vager]

According to the Wiki, everything is in Newtons and Kilograms, probably because Kerbals are supposed to be so small.

[PakledHostage]

Notwithstanding what is in the Wiki reference that sal_vager gives above, there seems to be two camps. Units of kilo Newtons (kN) and metric tonnes (t) also work out. In my opinion, it makes more sense to use kN and t because it fits the scale of the parts. Typical Kerbal rockets are on the order of tens of metres tall. It makes sense that rockets of that size would have a mass of several thousand kilograms, rather than several kilos.

[sal_vager]

I agree with PakledHostage on this, it does seem that parts of only a few kilos would be far too light, but I think that ultimately the units used are ambiguous.

Also, they are all without doubt Metric.

[Deltac]

kn makes sense, and so far, I haven't seen an engine with the same amount of thrust as the Saturn V S-IC stage, however, the use of multiple engine designs, that can probable be obtained. 33,400 kN!

Also, I forgot about weight. We'll go with kilo grams then? Not too sure about that as I don't remember the numbers being that high for the heavier parts I have.

ADDITIONAL: So I looked at the wiki, and the weight measurements seem all wrong. On the 1 meter large fuel tank, it only weighs 2.25kg when full? That's only 4.96 pounds, and I can safely lift way more than that. I doubt in real life, I'd be able to lift that much fuel by myself. So, they say kilograms, but the measurements just do not seem proper. I think Pakled alluded to that already, but I'm just flabergasted x3

Edited October 11, 2012 by Deltac
New information, didn't want to double post.

[G Addict]

Since thrust is kilonewtons according to mechjeb, I'd say masses are in tonnes, which makes sense considering the relative size of the rockets. No way those masses are in kg.

[Bluejayek]

You have to remember that the laws of physics as they pertain to density and strength of materials in the KSP universe are clearly different. The simplest example: Kerbin has a density of 58.489 g/cm^3. By comparison, in our universe the densest element, osmium, only has a density of 22.6g/cm^3. Hence, kerbin is either some engineered construct of superdense matter, or some physical laws are different.

Therefore, we can assume that the laws of physics are different enough that a 20m spaceship could weigh 5kg since the materials are strong enough! That being said, 5 tons makes more sense.

[Deltac]

Also, the laws of physics in a beta are only temporary

[Bekiekutmoar]

A full fuel tank of 2,25 kg is in my 'imagination' 2,25 tons, or 2250 kg. So the small capsule is 800 kg, the large one 4000 kg. A large landing leg 100 kg, just like a small parachute package. And so on ...

[EndlessWaves]

Also, they are all without doubt Metric.

I believe the Metric System specifically refers to the SI system and close antecedents (as in poetry, 'metric' relates to the metre) rather than a modular power of ten system in general.

[karolus10]

tonnes an kilograms could be shown in game, depending of order of magnitude, but standard unit for parts should be in kilograms.

Some conversions on UI level could be useful... for example launch mass could be shown in tons for cleaner readout, but it's more cosmetic change than necessity.