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Then I'm in the same minority because that's the way I have used
in Calc Physics classes for years. I do point out that it is the
same definition on other bodies, just replace Earth with ___ .
James Mackey
Joe Heafner wrote:
semester?), butFrom: Larry Smith <larry.smith@SNOW.EDU>
This debate seems to resurface every year (or is it every
interaction with that body*. Period. Yes, I'm aware of otherit would be nice if we could all agree on the definition of weight.Weight is *the force on a body due to Earth's gravitational
definitions that include *apparent weight* but this is more
trouble than it's worth IMHO. I completely ban the use of the
term *weightless* in my classes because it's not logically
consistent with the above definition. What most authors call
*weightless* is really more accurately *contact-forceless* (i.e.
the absence of a contact force whose magnitude may or may not be
equal to GMm/d^2).
probably in the minority though. Chabay and Sherwood use the same
Sadly, I don't think there is any closure to be had here. I'm
definition that I use.
Cheers,
Joe