Cable tension lifting 500 kg at constant speed

Answer: tension = 4,903.325 N (tension 500 kgf).

What we know

  • Mass: 500 kg
  • Acceleration (up +, down −): 0 m/s²

Step by step

Given
m = 500 kg, a = 0 m/s²
Formula
T = m × (g + a)
Substitute
T = 500 × (9.80665 + 0)
Result
T = 4,903.325 N

All results

Tension4,903.325 N
Tension500 kgf

Open the tension calculator with these numbers → and change any of them.

The physics

Tension is the pulling force transmitted along a rope, cable or string when it is stretched taut. For an ideal (massless, inextensible) rope over a frictionless support, that force is the same at every point — which is why one number describes the whole rope.