Formulae may indicate approximations of the forces felt during an arrest and catapult however the steam catapult applies more force in first stage of launch compared to later stage. EMALS will even out these forces to create less stress for all concerned. Similarly the Advanced Arrestor Gear (AAG) will even out the arresting force for all users.
In the video below CMDR Clark describes his first A4G arrest/catapult. In mid 1960s when the RAN FAA was regenerating fixed wing ops he was trained in USN with a bunch of others so he has arrests and free deck launches in the Trojan T-28C. Subsequently he went to Vietnam with the Iroquois RANHFV (hence 'shot at' references). Upon return he transitioned to the A4G Skyhawks (other pilots similarly did same). He says "under two seconds' which is clipped out in the poor quality video. In second video LCDR Ward USN famously exclaimed "HOLY SHI T!" after his first A-4B catapult (demo) from HMAS Melbourne mid 1965.
Clark A4G Skyhawk 1st Arrest & Catapult HMAS Melbourne