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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Assuming you stay on the same planet, weight and mass are directly proportional. (Almost) anywhere on Earth, 1 kg is 9.8 N. So essentially the scale is measuring force in Newtons, but just displaying that weight in kilograms (or more accurately, “kilogram-forces”).
If you took your scale to the moon and tried to weigh yourself there, it would be wrong because it’s not calibrated to make that conversion.
Assuming you stay on the same planet, weight and mass are directly proportional. (Almost) anywhere on Earth, 1 kg is 9.8 N. So essentially the scale is measuring force in Newtons, but just displaying that weight in kilograms (or more accurately, “kilogram-forces”).
If you took your scale to the moon and tried to weigh yourself there, it would be wrong because it’s not calibrated to make that conversion.
Wel its actually quite simple.
We dont because we like to differentiate things.
A newton is used to see how much force an amount of stuff would take to move more specifically 1 newton is the amount of force needed to move 1 kilogram of stuff 1m/s. So the calculation for weight is part of the calculation for newtons but not the whole calculation
For reference the calculation for weight is m(mass) * g(standard acceleration / gravity where 9.8 is used)
And the calculation for force or newtons usually is that calculation(mg) * m(a number of meters) /s(second) ^2
Because technically if you hold something its not actually exerting any force on your body. It is not moving or being moved. It simply changed positions to in your hand or on your scale so you now feel the gravity that has always been pulling on it due to the mass it has.
Its all just a matter of specification.
And as per your question of does kilograms measure mass. If you look at the calculations again you see mass is a part of how we get kilograms, so no its not directly referring to your mass but if you divide you weight by 9.8 you would get very close to what your mass is. (the 9.8 is an average and not accurate it changes based on your distance from sea level)
Wel its actually quite simple.
We dont because we like to differentiate things.
A newton is used to see how much force an amount of stuff would take to move more specifically 1 newton is the amount of force needed to move 1 kilogram of stuff 1m/s. So the calculation for weight is part of the calculation for newtons but not the whole calculation
For reference the calculation for weight is m(mass) * g(standard acceleration / gravity where 9.8 is used)
And the calculation for force or newtons usually is that calculation(mg) * m(a number of meters) /s(second) ^2
Because technically if you hold something its not actually exerting any force on your body. It is not moving or being moved. It simply changed positions to in your hand or on your scale so you now feel the gravity that has always been pulling on it due to the mass it has.
Its all just a matter of specification.
And as per your question of does kilograms measure mass. If you look at the calculations again you see mass is a part of how we get kilograms, so no its not directly referring to your mass but if you divide you weight by 9.8 you would get very close to what your mass is. (the 9.8 is an average and not accurate it changes based on your distance from sea level)
While kilogram is a measure of mass and newton is a measure of force, on earth, in many non-scientific settings we default to swapping around some units to have the same intent. Kilograms is mass, so while the scale is detecting force it displays them in terms of the force (weight) of a body (on earth) of this many kilograms.
If you have to travel to another planet or moon or something you could probably ask the scale company to make one appropriate for that location.
While kilogram is a measure of mass and newton is a measure of force, on earth, in many non-scientific settings we default to swapping around some units to have the same intent. Kilograms is mass, so while the scale is detecting force it displays them in terms of the force (weight) of a body (on earth) of this many kilograms.
If you have to travel to another planet or moon or something you could probably ask the scale company to make one appropriate for that location.
While the ‘seconds’ hand of your clock actually measures the time as it passes, the minute and hour hand merely divide the number by 60 each and show it to you.
Similarly the weight is measured as a force, divided by ~9.8 and shown to you as ‘mass’.
Only a balance scale with a counter weight can actually measure mass.
While the ‘seconds’ hand of your clock actually measures the time as it passes, the minute and hour hand merely divide the number by 60 each and show it to you.
Similarly the weight is measured as a force, divided by ~9.8 and shown to you as ‘mass’.
Only a balance scale with a counter weight can actually measure mass.
It senses your weight, it is then calibrated to report your mass in kg.
If you were to stand on it at the equator vs one of the poles your weight would be slightly different, so it’s reported mass would be different.
If you were to take it to the moon and stand on it it would sense your weight on the moon, and report a very wrong answer for your mass due to calibration being completely off.
To directly measure mass you’d need to be stuck in a centrifuge or hooked up to some giant springs or similar to accelerate you back and forth. This is cumbersome and not in common use, hopefully for obvious reasons.
For the folks using 🦅🦅🇺🇸🇺🇸FREEDOM UNITS🇺🇸🇺🇸🦅🦅 your scales also measure your weight in pounds-force, and are then calibrated to report your mass in pounds-mass, and you’ll see the same deviations from your actual mass at the poles and on the surface of the moon as the metric folks.
It senses your weight, it is then calibrated to report your mass in kg.
If you were to stand on it at the equator vs one of the poles your weight would be slightly different, so it’s reported mass would be different.
If you were to take it to the moon and stand on it it would sense your weight on the moon, and report a very wrong answer for your mass due to calibration being completely off.
To directly measure mass you’d need to be stuck in a centrifuge or hooked up to some giant springs or similar to accelerate you back and forth. This is cumbersome and not in common use, hopefully for obvious reasons.
For the folks using 🦅🦅🇺🇸🇺🇸FREEDOM UNITS🇺🇸🇺🇸🦅🦅 your scales also measure your weight in pounds-force, and are then calibrated to report your mass in pounds-mass, and you’ll see the same deviations from your actual mass at the poles and on the surface of the moon as the metric folks.
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