Now that I finally have some time, I can ask some more questions!
Defennder said:
Think in terms of oscillations.
As in spring?
clem said:
The mass of elementary particles is usually found by measuring their energy and momentum and then using the equation m^2=E^2-p^2.
That would mean you don't really measure the mass directly, but calculate it from measurements of other properties of the object. Thanks though
...on the side, how would you measure momentum?
nicksauce said:
How about subjecting a particle/object of known charge to an electric field and measuring its acceleration.
Thanks, but I had larger things in mind
And that would still mean that you calculate the mass based on the measured acceleration.
jtbell said:
An ordinary balance works the same way in an accelerating rocket ship, or in a large rotating space station, as it does in the Earth's gravitational field.
This is one of those things that makes you slap your forehead and go "of course" as soon as someone tells you
One question though, you'd still have to know the mass of the balancing pieces before you could make any meaningful measurements wouldn't you? And that would've had to be done say, on Earth or somewhere else where a gravitational field is present (?)
PhilDSP said:
You can also use the Newton force equation and bounce the particle off another particle of known mass. That assumes that gravitational mass and inertial mass are equivalent (or that you want to measure inertial mass).
Fair play, but you'd still be stuck if you didn't know the mass of the other particle.
Troponin said:
Set up an apparatus that measures the resistance to change of an object when a force is applied. Base it off of a measurable constant such as some oscillatory constant.
Would you mind giving me a more detailed breakdown of your idea?
f95toli said:
That's easy, as Defennder has already pointed out you can just use a spring.
BTW, if I am not misstaken this is how keep track of how much the astronauts on the International Space Station weigh.
How would you use a spring to measure the mass of an object directly?