Resources, Tools and Basic Information for Engineering and Design of Technical Applications!
mobile - visible on handheld devices - alternatively go to www.engineeringtoolbox.com!
Engineering ToolBox > Mass and Weight
Mass and weight are two common, and often misused and misunderstood terms in mechanics and fluid mechanics.
The fundamental relation between the mass and the weight is defined from the Newton's Second Law and can be expressed in SI-units as
F = m a (1)
where
F = force (N)
m = mass (kg)
a = acceleration (m/s2)
Mass is a measure of the amount of material in an object, being directly related to the number and type of atoms present in the object. Mass does not change with a body's position, movement or alteration of its shape unless material is added or removed.
The mass is a fundamental property of an object, a numerical measure of its inertia and a fundamental measure of the amount of matter in the object.
Weight is the gravitational force acting on a body mass. Transforming Newton's Second Law regarding the weight as a force due to gravity gives
w = m g (2)
where
w = weight (N)
m = mass (kg)
g = acceleration of gravity (m/s2)
The handling of mass and weight depends on the systems of units that is used. The most common systems of units are the
In the SI system the mass unit is the kg and since the weight is a force - the weight unit is the newton (N). Equation (2) for a body with 1 kg mass can then be expressed as:
w = 1 (kg) 9.807 (m/s2) = 9.807 (N) (2b)
where
9.807 (m/s2) = standard gravity close to earth in the SI system
As a result:
The British Gravitational System of units is used by engineers in the English-speaking world with the same relation to the foot - pound - second system as the meter kilogram - force second system (SI) has to the meter - kilogram - second system. For engineers who deals with forces, instead of masses, it's convenient to use a system that has as its base units length, time, and force, instead of length, time and mass.
The three base units are the foot, the second, and the pound-force.
In the BG system the mass unit is the slug and is defined from the Newton's Second Law (1). The unit of mass, the slug, is derived from the pound-force by defining it as the mass that will accelerate at 1 foot per second per second when a 1 pound-force acts upon it:
1 lb = (1 slug)(1 ft/s2)
In other words, 1 lb force acting on 1 slug mass will give the mass an acceleration of 1 ft/s2.
The weight of the mass from equation (2) in BG units can be expressed as:
w (lb) = m (slugs) g (ft/s2)
With a standard gravity 32.17405 ft/s2 - the mass of 1 slug weights 32.17405 lbf (pound-force).
In the English Engineering system of units the primary dimensions are are force, mass, length, time, and temperature. The units for force and mass are defined independently:
In the EE system 1 lb of force will give a mass of 1 lbm a standard acceleration of 32.17405 ft/s2.
Since the EE system operates with these units of force and mass, the Newton's Second Law can be modified to
F = m a / gc (3)
where
gc = a proportionality constant
or transformed to weight
w = m g / gc (4)
The proportionality constant gc makes it possible to define suitable units for force and mass. We can transform (4) to
1 lbf = (1 lbm)(32.174 ft/s2) / gc
or
gc = (1 lbm)(32.174 ft/s2)/(1 lbf)
Since 1 lbf gives a mass of 1 lbm an acceleration of 32.17405 ft/s2 and a mass of 1 slug an acceleration of 1 ft/s2, then
1 slug = 32,17405 lbm
A car's mass is 1,644 kg. The weight can be calculated:
w = (1,644 kg)(9.807 m/s2) = 16,122.7 N = 16.1 kN
- there is a force (weight) of 16.1 kN between the car and the earth.