I still don't understand what is meant when they say somebody "weighs" in kilograms. Its a unit of mass, not weight.
American Units:
Weight: Pounds
Mass: Slug
Metric:
Weight: Stones or Newtons
Mass: Grams
Do we really have to be that technical? I mean seriously.
It is universally understood what is meant.
Whats the conversion factor? Something like 2.2 lbs = 1 kg? I weigh 170 lbs or roughly 85 kilograms. If I were on the moon that conversion doesn't work.
Regardless, open any science book and it will say kilogram and slug are units of mass, pound and newton are units of force (weight).
:banghead2:
Missed my point completely. I'm an engineer, so I'm aware of the difference from a technical sense.
But for practical purposes, most people really see the difference as a nuiance. 99% of what we care about will be measured on Earth and have 9.8 m/s^2 as the acceleration due to gravity as a given. When someone says it "weighs" 60 kg, I'm not sitting there wondering what they are talking about or dazed/confused.
The same thing with acceleration. There is a technical definition and the common interpretation.
:banghead2:
Missed my point completely. I'm an engineer, so I'm aware of the difference from a technical sense.
But for practical purposes, most people really see the difference as a nuiance. 99% of what we care about will be measured on Earth and have 9.8 m/s^2 as the acceleration due to gravity as a given. When someone says it "weighs" 60 kg, I'm not sitting there wondering what they are talking about or dazed/confused.
The same thing with acceleration. There is a technical definition and the common interpretation.