One of the greatest sources of confusion in the Imperial (or U.S. Customary) system of measurement is that both mass and force are measured using the same unit, the pound. The differentiate between the two, we call one type of pound the pound-mass (lbm) and the other the pound-force (lbf).
Is lbf a measure of mass?
In some contexts, the term "pound" is used almost exclusively to refer to the unit of force and not the unit of mass. In those applications, the preferred unit of mass is the slug, i.e. lbf⋅s2/ft. In other contexts, the unit "pound" refers to a unit of mass.
What is lbf equal to?
An lbf, or a pound force, is the gravitational force exerted by a matter on the surface of the Earth. ... In figures it looks like this, 1 lbm x 32.174049 ft/s2, or equivalent to 32.174049 ft. lbm/s2. Thus if we convert it to “N,” or Newtons, then it is just 1 lbf = 0.45359237 kg x 9.80665m/s2 = 4.4482216152605 N.
