Question

Question on weight

What does our usual balancing scale denote?? mass or weight..

So when we stand it denotes say 70 kg... my question is, does it measure our force and then divide by 9.8 and give the result as 70kg.. in which case its my mass?? or whether it directly shows the force value.. in which case its newtons and my mass is in reality 7kg?

Answer 1

weight.

Answer 2

the force exerted by earth. the weight not the mass.

Answer 3

so you mean to say my mass is 6kg??? or does it actually divide by 9.8 and give the final answer..??

Answer 4

yes, your mass i 6kg and mine is 9:(

Answer 5

Some sources say.. the weighing scale calculates the force and divides it by 9.8 and so it actually does give the value of mass in kg itself.. in which case my mass really is 70kg and yours 90kg..

Answer 6

hmm i think it depends more on the weigh scale, like the most common one (in the markets) doesn't do all the calculation but maybe the ones in laboratory does it.

Answer 7

how is that possible.. cause in both the scales we get the same result.. we would get 70 and 90 as the value itself

Answer 8

noooo, the normal weighing scale only calculates our weight not our mass.

Answer 9

hmm most weighing machins work on the newtons third law the measure the reaction of the force of the gravity. you can verify this by weighing yourself in a lift.

Answer 10

http://home.howstuffworks.com/inside-scale1.htm

i just read this... according what i just understood... the arrangement is such that.. the net force is divided by 12... so it does provide the actual mass

Answer 11

ishaan obviously it would change cause then the calculation would become.. something like 7kg * 10.5 (due to upward acceration) divided by 9.8..

Answer 12

Although it gives us the weight. It does not make any difference. Because it is relative.Suppose i say weight of substance 1 is A N and weight of substance 2 is B N.
Now you will say weight of a is A/9.8 Kg & weight of B is B/9.8Kg. so it didn't make any difference because still the ratio is same.

Answer 13

i mean't 70kg*10.5/9.8

Answer 14

hmm @apoorvk @experimentX

Answer 15

until now i thought it was the force not the mass itself.

Answer 16

rs32... i ask one question.. whats your mass? :P

Answer 17

Gravitational force <---- a property of objects having a property called mass <-- I think

Answer 18

mashy see this. it's the standard 1 kg mass http://www.justervesenet.no/GetFile.aspx/images/epii_id/730/epit_id/1 mass not weight

Answer 19

the thing inside the glass chamber

Answer 20

or column

Answer 21

Imagine you are on the Moon with the same scale. If the reading is the same as on Earth, it means your balance is built to measure masses. If the reading is different, it measures weights.

Modern balances with strain sensors or springs measure weights. Balances with two plates, where you add calibrated masses on one side measure masses.

In all cases, whether the balance measures weights or masses, the reading is always converted into a mass equivalent. Standard electronic kitchen scales can be calibrated depending if you live near the poles or near the Equator, because g varies slightly with latitude.

Answer 22

i don't think normal or common weighing machines measure the mass.

Answer 23

So according to vincent.. the final value is mass.. and hence my mass is 70kg

Answer 24

and vincent.. hw is it possible to measure mass????? unless you use a balancing scale

Answer 25

read it again, he said it measure the weight

Answer 26

@vincent.. i didn't read that one part.. sorry :D.. so finally i understand my mass is 70 kg... ishaan.. he said it finally converts it into mass

Answer 27

@Mashy When you are talking about mass first thing you have to admit is It is not going to change.
If you take your weighing scale to the moon & measure yourself it would give you value different from that of earth.
Although we measure weight of a substance we measure it in Kg. That should be counted in newton. So for the calculation purpose it doesn't give an error whether you use Kg or Newton.

Answer 28

no.. just answer my question rs32.. whats your mass??

Answer 29

ll brb after dinner

Answer 30

hmm you can try this on your own. get into a lift if the reading changed then it's weight if it doesn't then it's mass.

Answer 31

weighing yourself in a lift

Answer 32

Okay folks ever heard of "Kilogram Weight"?

Answer 33

1N is basically the weight of one Kg on earth.
Now your weighing machine definitely doesn't measure 'mass', as mass is a constant. Now if you were on moon, you would suddenly go lighter, right? (good for you if you're overweight :p)

Wrong. You mass is what it is. It doesn't change Your weight does.

A balance just measures the force on its top surface. It shows your 'weight'.

Answer 34

To measure a mass directly, the easiest way is to compare it to a standard, copied from the standard kilogramme kept in Sèvres (Fr) by BIPM (Bureau International des Poids et Mesures).

You can also give the mass a velocity and convert its kinetic energy in some other form of energy which you know how to measure.

You can exert a known force and measure the acceleration.

Answer 35

mashy do you think this weighing balance accounts for gravitational acceleration.
http://blog.kirgs.com/images/balance_scales.jpg or this one, http://i.istockimg.com/file_thumbview_approve/579605/2/stock-photo-579605-old-fashioned-weighing-scales.jpg

Answer 36

or this one, http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/richsouthwales/richsouthwales1107/richsouthwales110700037/9945524-an-old-weighing-scales-painted-black-with-a-brass-bowl-containing-potato-tubers-all-isolated-on-whit.jpg

Answer 37

ishaan when it comes to using balancing scales.. if the other side has a standard like 1kg mass or 2kg mass equivalent.. then you can measure directly in mass itself.. where as in the case of the other weighing scale .. there could be internal mechanism by which it divides

Answer 38

It does not actually divide. It is just the scale on which you read is written directly in kilogrammes.
It actually measures weights not in newtons, but in kilogramme-forces.

Answer 39

appoorvk.. a weighing scale may work as how i mentioned and show my mass.. and it would still show error on moon, just because it shows error on moon doesn't mean it DOES not display mass..

Answer 40

there is a reason why we call it weight not mass mashy.

Answer 41

So vincent i finally ask you the question... what is your mass?

Answer 42

ishaan if we call it weight and we measure in kg.. which is error... it could actually be mass and we call it weight :D

Answer 43

WHATS YOUR MASS??? someone answr!!!!!!!

Answer 44

apoorv i perfectly understand the difference between mass and weight :-/

Answer 45

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081030100407AAIfJ0F