meganewton

A meganewton (symbol MN) is a unit of force in the International System of Units (SI). It equals one million newtons (1 MN = 1,000,000 N). The meganewton is a derived unit formed by applying the SI prefix mega- to the newton.

The meganewton is used in contexts where very large forces are encountered, such as aerospace, structural engineering for large installations, geophysics, and rocketry. In practice, engineers often express large forces in kilonewtons (kN) or meganewtons (MN) depending on magnitude, with 1 MN equal to 1,000 kN.

Conversions and context: Because weight on Earth is force due to gravity, 1 MN corresponds to the weight of about 102 metric tons (1,000,000 N / 9.81 m/s^2 ≈ 102,000 kg). Rocketry and large-structure analyses may report thrusts or loads in MN, reflecting their sizable forces.

Usage notes: The term is relatively uncommon outside specialized engineering fields and is primarily a convenience for expressing large forces succinctly. It is one of several SI-derived units using metric prefixes applied to the newton. The standard symbol is MN, with no space between the numeral and the prefix (e.g., 2 MN).