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From: dgary@ecsvax.UUCP (D Gary Grady)
Newsgroups: net.puzzle
Subject: Re: feathers vs. gold  **SPOILER**
Message-ID: <937@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 17-Dec-85 11:59:54 EST
Article-I.D.: ecsvax.937
Posted: Tue Dec 17 11:59:54 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Dec-85 01:30:42 EST
References: <846@ecsvax.UUCP> <902@ecsvax.UUCP> <456@eneevax.UUCP> <1671@cae780.UUCP>
Reply-To: dgary@ecsvax.UUCP (D Gary Grady)
Distribution: net
Organization: Duke U Comp Ctr
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In article <1671@cae780.UUCP> gordon@cae780.UUCP (Brian Gordon) writes:
>In article <456@eneevax.UUCP> hsu@eneevax.UUCP (Dave Hsu) writes:
>>Gosh, I always thought that weight and pounds referred to FORCE.  Is it
>>time to resurrect the slug?
>Have I missed something?  Grams and pounds are both units of the same thing -
>feel free to call it FORCE if you wish.

I probably should know better than to jump into this, but...

Weight is a measure of force and can be measured in pounds of force,
in poundals (a different unit), in newtons, or in grams of force (among
other things).  SI purists will object to "grams of force" but they are
a legitimate unit quite widely used in engineering outside the US, I'm
told.

Here's a puzzle:  You're in Earth orbit, about 300 miles up.  The
acceleration of gravity is roughly the same there as on the surface of
the Earth.  Your weight is your mass times the acceleration of gravity,
right?  So how can you be weightless?  (The answer requires a more
subtle understanding of what is meant by "weight" than is given in most
undergraduate physics courses.)

Pedantically,
-- 
D Gary Grady
Duke U Comp Center, Durham, NC  27706
(919) 684-3695
USENET:  {seismo,decvax,ihnp4,akgua,etc.}!mcnc!ecsvax!dgary