- #1
Goongyae
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What weighs more?
An ounce of feathers?
Or an ounce of gold?
An ounce of feathers?
Or an ounce of gold?
micromass said:Well, obviously, their mass is the same. But does that mean that they weigh thesame? I think not: an ounce of feathers will take up more place than an ounce of gold. Therefore, the feathers will be more prown to local fluctuations of g. In particular, the center of mass of the feathers will be at an higher altitude then with the gold. Thus g for the feathers will be a bit lower. This is why I think that the weight of the feathers is less then the weight of the gold!
[Ignoring the QI klaxons]micromass said:Well, obviously, their mass is the same. But does that mean that they weigh thesame? I think not: an ounce of feathers will take up more place than an ounce of gold. Therefore, the feathers will be more prown to local fluctuations of g. In particular, the center of mass of the feathers will be at an higher altitude then with the gold. Thus g for the feathers will be a bit lower. This is why I think that the weight of the feathers is less then the weight of the gold!
micromass said:Wow, I thought that nobody would take my answer seriously. But you guys even did the calculations I really love this forum :!)
Goongyae said:BTW the ounce of gold will be about 10% heavier than the ounce of feathers.
On the other hand, a pound of gold is about 18% less massive than a pound of feathers.Goongyae said:BTW the ounce of gold will be about 10% heavier than the ounce of feathers.
Gokul43201 said:[Ignoring the QI klaxons]
The correction in g goes like 2h/R (R is Earth's radius). So, for a pile of feathers that's a whopping 60 cm high, the relative difference of weight is about 60cm/6000km or about 1 in 10 million.
On the other hand, there is a much bigger effect, somewhere in the region of 1 in 1000, from the difference in buoyant force (I assumed that feathers have a density similar to most organic matter, somewhere in the range of 1g/cc).
They both weigh the same, as a pound is a unit of measurement for weight and does not change based on the object being weighed.
A gallon of oil will weigh more than a gallon of water, as oil has a higher density than water.
They both weigh the same, as a ton is a unit of measurement for weight and does not change based on the object being weighed.
This depends on the specific car and elephant being compared. On average, an adult elephant can weigh anywhere from 5,000 to 14,000 pounds, while a car can weigh anywhere from 2,000 to 4,000 pounds.
A mountain will weigh more than a molehill, as it has a larger volume and therefore more mass.