The kilogram is the SI unit of mass and it the almost universally used standard mass unit. The associated SI unit of force and weight is the Newton, with 1 kilogram weighing 9.8 Newtons under standard conditions on the Earth's surface. However, in the US common units, the pound is the unit of force (and therefore weight).The pound is the widely used unit for commerce. The use of the pound force constrains the mass unit to an inconveniently large measuring unit called a "slug". The use of this unit is discouraged, and the use of exclusively SI units for all scientific work is strongly encouraged.