How do we know the mass we measured on a scale is not our weight since we live on the earth?
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kmilgrim
Dec 19, 2017
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 an object with a mass of 1 lb will have a weight of 1 lb.
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 an object with a mass of 1 lb will have a weight of 1 lb.