Home / Speed Conversion / Convert Kilometer/hour to Knot

Convert Kilometer/hour to Knot

Please provide values below to convert kilometer/hour [km/h] to knot [kt, kn], or vice versa.

     

Kilometer/hour

Definition: The unit kilometers per hour (symbol: km/h) is a unit of speed expressing the number of kilometers traveled in one hour.

History/origin: The unit of kilometers per hour is based on the meter, which was formally defined in 1799. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term kilometer first came into use in 1810. It was not until later in the mid-late 19th century however, that the use of kilometers per hour became more widespread; the myriametre (10,000 meters) per hour was preferred for expressing speed.

Current use: Km/h is currently the most commonly used unit of speed around the world and is typically used for car speeds and road signs. It is also common for both miles per hour as well as kilometers per hour to be displayed on car speedometers. There are many abbreviations for the unit kilometers per hour (kph, kmph, k.p.h, KMph., etc.), but "km/h" is the SI unit symbol.

Knot

Definition: A knot (symbol: kn or kt) is a non-SI unit of speed at sea. It is defined as one nautical mile per hour, where a nautical mile is 1,852 meters. A knot is equal to 1.852 kilometers per hour and 1.15078 miles per hour.

History/origin: The term "knot" is derived from its former use as a measure on the log lines on ship logs (a navigation tool) which were used to measure ship speed through water. Knots would be tied into the rope on these lines at uniform intervals of approximately 47 feet, or 14.3 meters long.

The knot has had various definitions throughout history. The United States and United Kingdom in particular used their own specific nautical miles up until 1954 and 1970 respectively. The US nautical mile is defined as 1,853.248 m while the UK Admiralty nautical mile is equal to 1853.184 m, compared to the international nautical mile of 1,852 m.

Current use: The knot is used worldwide in meteorology as well as in maritime and air navigation as a measure of speed of a vessel relative to the fluids in which they travel. Tidal streams, river currents, and wind speeds are also measured using knots.



Kilometer/hour to Knot Conversion Table

Kilometer/hour [km/h]Knot [kt, Kn]
0.01 km/h0.005399568 kt, kn
0.1 km/h0.0539956803 kt, kn
1 km/h0.5399568035 kt, kn
2 km/h1.0799136069 kt, kn
3 km/h1.6198704104 kt, kn
5 km/h2.6997840173 kt, kn
10 km/h5.3995680346 kt, kn
20 km/h10.7991360691 kt, kn
50 km/h26.9978401728 kt, kn
100 km/h53.9956803456 kt, kn
1000 km/h539.9568034557 kt, kn


How to Convert Kilometer/hour to Knot

1 km/h = 0.5399568035 kt, kn
1 kt, kn = 1.852 km/h

Example: convert 15 km/h to kt, kn:
15 km/h = 15 × 0.5399568035 kt, kn = 8.0993520518 kt, kn



Popular Speed Unit Conversions


Convert Kilometer/hour to Other Speed Units