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Select a measurement and convert between different units
Single conversion
To convert from rotation per minute (rpm) to hertz (Hz), use the following formula:
Let's convert 5 rotation per minute (rpm) to hertz (Hz).
Using the formula:
Therefore, 5 rotation per minute (rpm) is equal to hertz (Hz).
Here are some quick reference conversions from rotation per minute (rpm) to hertz (Hz):
| rotations per minute | hertz |
|---|---|
| 0.000001 rpm | Hz |
| 0.001 rpm | Hz |
| 0.1 rpm | Hz |
| 1 rpm | Hz |
| 2 rpm | Hz |
| 3 rpm | Hz |
| 4 rpm | Hz |
| 5 rpm | Hz |
| 6 rpm | Hz |
| 7 rpm | Hz |
| 8 rpm | Hz |
| 9 rpm | Hz |
| 10 rpm | Hz |
| 20 rpm | Hz |
| 30 rpm | Hz |
| 40 rpm | Hz |
| 50 rpm | Hz |
| 100 rpm | Hz |
| 1000 rpm | Hz |
| 10000 rpm | Hz |
For all Frequency converters, choose units using the From/To dropdowns above.
Simply put, rotations per minute (RPM) measures the speed at which something is spinning.
It counts the number of full turns an object completes in one minute. From car engines to computer hard drives, RPM is a key indicator of performance and speed.
The concept of RPM (rotations per minute) gained popularity during the Industrial Revolution, thanks in large part to Scottish engineer James Watt.
While developing his steam engine, Watt needed a way to compare its power output to that of a horse. To do this, he determined how many times a horse could turn a mill wheel in one minute.
He utilized this rotational measurement to help establish the definition of horsepower. As a result, RPM became a crucial metric for quantifying the performance and work capacity of mechanical engines—a practice that continues to this day.
You encounter RPM every day in common technology.
In your car, the tachometer displays the engine's speed in rotations per minute, indicating how fast the crankshaft is spinning. A higher RPM generally means more power is being produced.
Computer hard disk drives (HDDs) also use RPM to measure their performance; a 7200 RPM drive can read and write data faster than a 5400 RPM drive.
RPM ratings, which denote motor speed and efficiency, are also found on household appliances such as blenders, washing machines, and fans.
Although RPM is a common unit, physics and engineering often use hertz (Hz) for frequency and radians per second (rad/s) for angular velocity.
The conversion is straightforward:
To Hertz (Hz): Because a minute has 60 seconds, you divide the RPM value by 60.
To Radians per Second (rad/s): One complete rotation is equivalent to 2π radians. To convert RPM to radians per second, multiply the RPM value by 2π, then divide by 60.
Hertz (Hz) is the standard unit of frequency, measuring the number of cycles per second.
You encounter it everywhere in modern technology, from the sound you hear and the screen you're looking at to the speed of your computer's processor (CPU). The plural form is simply hertz.
The unit is named in honor of the German physicist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz.
In the late 1880s, he was the first person to provide conclusive proof of the existence of electromagnetic waves. His groundbreaking experiments laid the groundwork for the development of radio, television, and all forms of wireless communication.
Hertz is a fundamental measurement you encounter in everyday technology, often without realizing it. Here are two of the most common examples:
A sound's pitch is determined by its frequency (measured in hertz): higher frequencies produce higher pitches.
For example, the A above middle C on a piano is standardized at 440 Hz.
The refresh rate of your computer monitor, TV, or smartphone screen is measured in hertz.
This number indicates how frequently the display updates the image per second—a higher value results in smoother motion, which is especially noticeable in videos and gaming.
When discussing computer processors, you often hear the term gigahertz (GHz). One gigahertz is equal to one billion hertz (1 GHz = 109 Hz).
This value represents the processor's CPU clock speed—the number of processing cycles it can execute per second.
Before gigahertz became the standard, speeds were often measured in megahertz (MHz), where 1 GHz equals 1,000 MHz. While not the sole indicator of performance, a higher clock speed generally means a processor can perform calculations and execute instructions more quickly.