James Frysinger in USMA 14213 has misinderstood me. He wrote:
>So, most commercial and laboratory devices actually measure force, since
>they require a gravitational field to operate. HOWEVER, this is of no
>great concern to most people. As we've said here many times, weight is
>often taken to be synonymous with mass for most commercial purposes (the
>framework of Joe's comments) and this is well supported in various
>standards.
I used "weight" in the strictly scientific jargon sense of "force of gravity".
>Bill Potts wrote:
>>
>> Gene:
>>
>> The only scales that measure mass are balance scales, because they balance
>> something with something else whose mass is known. They will produce the
>> same result on Earth, on the Moon or on Mars. As Joe has implied, Toledo
>> scales use a balancing mechanism. (I actually have some doubts about Toledo
>> scales, though; with true balance scales one takes note of the reference
>> mass at the point of zero deflection, whereas the Toledo scales measure by
>> deflection.)
I think that Toledo scales measure true mass. They balance the weight of a
known mass against the weight of the mass to be measured by varying the
effective length of the lever arm supporting the known mass.
Joseph B. Reid
17 Glebe Road West
Toronto M5P 1C8 Tel. 416 486-6071
