hes@ecsvax.UUCP (Henry Schaffer) (12/13/85)
> > This is an old two part riddle. > > I) Which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of gold? One pound of feathers weighs 453.59 grams. One pound of gold weighs 373.2 grams. > > II)Which weighs more, an ounce of feathers or an ounce of gold? One ounce of feathers weighs 28.35 grams. One ounce of gold weighs 31.103 grams. > > --henry schaffer For many years I have been afraid that this riddle would become outdated - but I have feared for naught - it doesn't look as if we will ever go metric. --henry P.S. Don't blame me, this is the way these things are weighed and sold in standard commercial circles.
hsu@eneevax.UUCP (Dave Hsu) (12/15/85)
In article <902@ecsvax.UUCP> hes@ecsvax.UUCP (Henry Schaffer) writes: >> I) Which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of gold? > > One pound of feathers weighs 453.59 grams. > One pound of gold weighs 373.2 grams. > > One ounce of feathers weighs 28.35 grams. > One ounce of gold weighs 31.103 grams. > > For many years I have been afraid that this riddle would become >outdated - but I have feared for naught - it doesn't look as if we >will ever go metric. > >--henry > >P.S. Don't blame me, this is the way these things are weighed and >sold in standard commercial circles. Gosh, I always thought that weight and pounds referred to FORCE. Is it time to resurrect the slug? -dave -- David Hsu Communication & Signal Processing Lab, EE Department University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 hsu@eneevax.umd.edu {seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!eneevax!hsu CF522@UMDD.BITNET
gordon@cae780.UUCP (Brian Gordon) (12/16/85)
In article <456@eneevax.UUCP> hsu@eneevax.UUCP (Dave Hsu) writes: >In article <902@ecsvax.UUCP> hes@ecsvax.UUCP (Henry Schaffer) writes: >>> I) Which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of gold? >> >> One pound of feathers weighs 453.59 grams. >> One pound of gold weighs 373.2 grams. >> >> One ounce of feathers weighs 28.35 grams. >> One ounce of gold weighs 31.103 grams. >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. The "puzzle" makes use of the wild inconsistencies of "English measures", with different sized ounces and a different number of those ounces in the corresponding pounds. So what's the problem?
dgary@ecsvax.UUCP (D Gary Grady) (12/17/85)
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
phillips@cisden.UUCP (Tom Phillips) (12/19/85)
In article <902@ecsvax.UUCP> hes@ecsvax.UUCP (Henry Schaffer) writes: >> >> This is an old two part riddle. >> >> I) Which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of gold? > > One pound of feathers weighs 453.59 grams. > One pound of gold weighs 373.2 grams. ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ No it doesn't. It has a mass of 373.2 grams. It weighs about 3.66 Newtons. Et cetera. >> --henry schaffer > For many years I have been afraid that this riddle would become >outdated - but I have feared for naught - it doesn't look as if we >will ever go metric. Why go metric when no one understands the difference between mass and weight? >--henry >P.S. Don't blame me, this is the way these things are weighed and ^^^^^^^ You are unfortunately right. >sold in standard commercial circles. Tommy Phillips cisden!phillips
terryl@tekcrl.UUCP () (12/20/85)
> In article <456@eneevax.UUCP> hsu@eneevax.UUCP (Dave Hsu) writes: > >In article <902@ecsvax.UUCP> hes@ecsvax.UUCP (Henry Schaffer) writes: > >>> I) Which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of gold? > >> > >> One pound of feathers weighs 453.59 grams. > >> One pound of gold weighs 373.2 grams. > >> > >> One ounce of feathers weighs 28.35 grams. > >> One ounce of gold weighs 31.103 grams. > > >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. The "puzzle" makes use of the wild > inconsistencies of "English measures", with different sized ounces and a > different number of those ounces in the corresponding pounds. So what's the > problem? Whoever > > is(Henry Schaffer), is right. Whoever > is, is wrong. A GRAM IS A UNIT OF MASS. A POUND IS A UNIT OF FORCE, DEPENDENT ON EXTERNAL VARIABLES. MASS IS INDEPENDENT OF EXTERNAL VARIABLES. As Henry said, although not very clear, and it may confuse some people, a gram is the metric unit of mass. A slug is the American (English??) unit of mass. Can't remember the mathematical equation relating grams and slugs(boy, sounds like it was devel- oped in Oregon, as everyone knows the slug is the "Official State Mascot" of Oregon (-:!!!!)