An object’s weight has a relation with force amount acting on a body as a result of gravity or a force of reaction holding it in place. A spring scale is the instrument used to measure weight of objects. The common symbol of weight is W. the SI unit for weight that is recognized by the international system unit is newton represented by N. Other units such as pounds may be used.
Weight is sometimes defined as a vector quantity, force of gravity acting on an object. Weight is sometimes defined as scalar quantity, gravitational force’s magnitude. It can also be defined as reaction force’s magnitude exerted on an object by mechanisms keeping it in place. The quantity measured by a spring scale is weight. In a free fall state, weight could be zero. In this weight explanation, terrestrial objects would have no weight. If air resistance is ignored, a mango dropping from top of a tree could be weightless.
The measurement unit for weight is the same as that of force that is newton. Example: a body with 1 kilogram of mass has 9.8 newtons of weight on the earth’s surface. It is approximately a sixth on the moon surface.
There are complications arising from weight concepts having to do with the relativity theory where gravity is explained to be a result of the spacetime curvature.
Laws of motion by Newton and universal gravitation resulted to more developments of the weight concept. Weight is different from mass. Mass was described as objects’ fundamental property linked to their inertia. Weight on the other side was described to be linked with the gravitational force on a body hence dependent on the object’s context. Generally weight was thought of being relative to another object bringing rise to the pull of gravity. Example: earth’s weight towards the sun.
The most common weight definition is exerted force on an object by gravity. This is represented by the following formula: W = m g, W represents weight, m represents mass and g represents gravitational acceleration. The weight represented by W equals the magnitude of the body’s gravitational force.
The acceleration due to gravity changes with different places. A standard value is sometimes taken of 9.80665m/s^2 that is used to get the standard weight. A force with a magnitude equaling mg newtons can also be called m kilogram weight.
A spring scale is used in the measurement of weight by observing the extent to which the body pushes on the spring. A body would have a lower reading on the moon. A balance scale is used for the indirect measurement of mass through comparison of a body to references.
