Unit of force

A unit of force specifies the reference magnitude used to express a force. The SI derived unit is the newton, defined by $1\mathrm{N}=1\mathrm{kg}\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-2}$, consistent with Newton's second law.

A force of one newton gives a one-kilogram body an acceleration of one metre per second squared when it is the net applied force. A kilogram is a unit of mass, so it cannot replace the newton without also specifying an acceleration or a conventional gravitational reference.^[ref]