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JohnnyRingo

(18,628 posts)
Mon Aug 19, 2013, 04:29 PM Aug 2013

Moment of geek: How much does a gram weigh?

I never really thought about it until now, and assumed somebody was keeping track of such things, but the answer is more complicated than it seems.

As a conscious consumer, I like to protect my investment when making purchases of expensive commodities, like ..uh..bacon. When I buy an ounce of .. uh bacon, I like to know I'm getting exactly that. That's why I keep an Ohaus Harvard Trip and Fisher Scientific Triple Beam scales around the house.

Not everyone is as fastidious as myself on getting the right weight on smoked goods like uh, bacon, so to put it other terms: We all learned as youngsters that 28.3495231 grams of prevention equates to .453592370 kilograms of cure, but how do we know when we're applying sufficient prevention? Though there should be an easier way to remember that important formula, it's clear that being shy even a fraction of a gram in prevention can lead to an expotentially dire amount of woe down the road!

Science comes to the rescue once again! This clip describes why a gram weighs what it does, how we've kept track of that precise value over hundreds of years, and how that quest led to the development of the most perfectly round object known to mankind:



Be the geek.
15 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Moment of geek: How much does a gram weigh? (Original Post) JohnnyRingo Aug 2013 OP
That was excellent! Thank you. (nt) antiquie Aug 2013 #1
"Bacon"? Spitfire of ATJ Aug 2013 #2
Way cool! OffWithTheirHeads Aug 2013 #3
About 80 bucks....oh wait Lochloosa Aug 2013 #4
That was fun! progressoid Aug 2013 #5
He buys in bulk. It's even more expensive when you buy...uh, bacon, by the 1/4 oz. jtuck004 Aug 2013 #6
Awesome! I'm a HS physics teacher jimlup Aug 2013 #7
Thank you for making a difference. JohnnyRingo Aug 2013 #8
Be sure to remind your class it's weight is also based on altitude.... Spitfire of ATJ Aug 2013 #9
I sent that clip to a friend... JohnnyRingo Aug 2013 #10
"I don't know if I want to lose mass or weight now." Spitfire of ATJ Aug 2013 #11
I think I'll just call it a problem with newtonian science... JohnnyRingo Aug 2013 #13
I guess you just can't uninvent ice cream. Spitfire of ATJ Aug 2013 #14
Quick question: Would you rather be hit in the head by a pound of gold or a pound of concrete. Fearless Aug 2013 #12
Both can make you see stars. Spitfire of ATJ Aug 2013 #15
 

jtuck004

(15,882 posts)
6. He buys in bulk. It's even more expensive when you buy...uh, bacon, by the 1/4 oz.
Mon Aug 19, 2013, 06:37 PM
Aug 2013

And if you are buying in bulk, after you have....uh, tasted it, it's really hard to remember numbers like .4535...what was the rest of that?

Good bacon!

jimlup

(7,968 posts)
7. Awesome! I'm a HS physics teacher
Mon Aug 19, 2013, 07:07 PM
Aug 2013

And I'll use this video in my class in early September. This is perfect and will be used on the 2nd or 3rd day if not earlier. Very nice - thanks.

We start by talking about units but also about measurement and uncertainty so I think this will help drive in the point to the kids. The reason to take careful measurements... Very nice... I'm psyched to go back to school this fall now!

JohnnyRingo

(18,628 posts)
8. Thank you for making a difference.
Mon Aug 19, 2013, 07:33 PM
Aug 2013

I have a lot of respect for educators, and like many, I recall the good ones who made a meaningful contribution to my life. I'm fortunate that my science teachers were absolutely the best a free education could provide.

I can tell you're one of those who will also be remembered decades after those students leave the hallowed halls.

 

Spitfire of ATJ

(32,723 posts)
9. Be sure to remind your class it's weight is also based on altitude....
Mon Aug 19, 2013, 09:40 PM
Aug 2013

Things weigh less the further they are from the gravity well of the earth.

Thus something weighs more in Death Valley than it does on Mount Everest.

Go far enough up and an object becomes weightless.

Also freezing and boiling points of water change based on atmospheric pressure.



http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/phase.html

JohnnyRingo

(18,628 posts)
10. I sent that clip to a friend...
Tue Aug 20, 2013, 01:22 AM
Aug 2013

...who uses the screen name "Professor". I didn't know until now that indeed he used to teach science.

He too mentioned in his reply about how a kilo is mass instead of weight and varies with altitude. He pointed out that an ounce is based on a specific weight, while the "English" measure of mass is the slug. The SI measure of weight is actually the newton (?).

He kinda lost me after that, but explained the difference by imagining a ton of steel hung from a crane. If the chain breaks while standing beneath it, you'll feel the weight. If that ton of steel slams you against a wall, you'll feel the mass. Momentum is a factor, but it's the general idea.

My diet was a lot less complicated before today. I don't know if I want to lose mass or weight now.

 

Spitfire of ATJ

(32,723 posts)
11. "I don't know if I want to lose mass or weight now."
Tue Aug 20, 2013, 01:31 AM
Aug 2013

Depends if it's blood, bone or muscle instead of fat.

JohnnyRingo

(18,628 posts)
13. I think I'll just call it a problem with newtonian science...
Tue Aug 20, 2013, 03:18 AM
Aug 2013

and chalk it up to one more unsolvable problem beyond my scope of reason.

Fearless

(18,421 posts)
12. Quick question: Would you rather be hit in the head by a pound of gold or a pound of concrete.
Tue Aug 20, 2013, 02:35 AM
Aug 2013

Answer below.................................


















Answer: A pound of gold is 12 ounces but a pound of concrete is 16 ounces. Gold is weighed in troy weight whereas concrete is not.

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