What does the weighing scale we use in our homes actually measures? As weight should be in Newton and it measures in Kilograms so does it measures our mass ? Why we say that our weight is x Kilograms when we should say the weight is x Newtons , it is too confusing for me .
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First, strictly speaking, kilograms are mass, Newtons are weight (or even more accurately – force. Weight is just one specific kind of force). However, in everyday speech, people use “weight” for both because it’s a similar thing.
Second, many measuring devices don’t measure directly.
Depending on the type of scale, it actually measures the displacement of springs, or current that flows through the circuit (that depends on the load). That measurement is then translated to your mass.
That’s similar to how, with a mercury thermometer, you don’t measure temperature. You measure the length of the mercury line. But whoever made the thermometer knows which length corresponds to which temperature, so the temperature scale is calibrated accordingly.
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