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autodidude
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Whenever you step on a scale, digital or spring, is that your weight? Or has the scale been calibrated to take into account the Earth's gravity and the number shown is your mass?
autodidude said:Whenever you step on a scale, digital or spring, is that your weight? Or has the scale been calibrated to take into account the Earth's gravity and the number shown is your mass?
quietrain said:...thats why i find it weird that people say my weight is 70kg when it should be 70N?
autodidude said:elfmotat:
so if it read 150lbs, that's under the force of gravity? And so when you convert from kg to lbs, the constant has something to do with it?
autodidude said:@ cepheid:
EDIT 1:I'm just talking about scales on Earth :p
EDIT 2: Yes, that's what pretty much what I wanted to know, whether the scale was calibrated to find your mass or not
autodidude said:EDIT 3: So say. 70kg, you'd have to convert that?
cepheid said:Scales measure weight, (actually they measure displacement of a spring or something similar and make assumptions about the properties of the system in order to determine the force needed to produce that displacement cf. Hooke's Law). But the numbers have been calibrated to show the mass of an object (on Earth) that would produce the measured force. At least, that's true of the kg (metric) markings on the dial. I guess for the imperial markings it could be interpreted either way, since (correct me if I'm wrong) an object with a mass of 1 lbm will have a weight of 1 lbf.
EDIT: A more direct answer to your question with fewer unnecessary complications would be: Scales measure weight. If you stood on a scale on a different planet, the reading would be different from what it was on Earth.
EDIT 2: But since the numbers on the dial have been calibrated for Earth, if you stepped onto a bathroom scale made on Earth while you were on a different planet, then I guess what it would show you would be an incorrect value for your mass!
EDIT 3: But the numbers on the dial would only be wrong if you interpreted them as being mass units. If you interpreted them as being kilograms-force and pounds-force, then they would be showing you your correct weight. Sorry, things kept occurring to me!
quietrain said:should be weight? since your mass is constant, your weight is mg which is affected by the "g" of different places
thats why i find it weird that people say my weight is 70kg when it should be 70N?
Mass refers to the amount of matter an object contains, whereas weight is the measure of the force of gravity on an object. Mass is a constant property and does not change, while weight can vary depending on the strength of the gravitational pull.
Scales typically show weight, as they measure the force of gravity on an object. However, some specialized scales can also measure mass by using the principle of balancing forces.
Mass and weight are directly proportional to each other. This means that if the mass of an object increases, its weight will also increase. However, the relationship between the two can vary depending on the strength of the gravitational force.
Yes, an object can have different mass and weight. For example, an object will have a different weight on Earth compared to the Moon, as the gravitational pull is different on these two celestial bodies. However, the mass of the object will remain the same.
Mass is typically measured using a balance scale or a triple-beam balance, which compare the mass of an object to a known mass. Weight is measured using a spring scale, which calculates the force of gravity acting on an object. Both mass and weight are usually measured in units of grams or kilograms.