Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: Mass



fred bucheit wrote:
I think there is a great advantage in defining mass as what a beam
balance measures. It teaches that we can measure mass even though we
can not actually define it in words. I think it is important that
students realize this irony. We spend too much time trying to do the
impossible.

I agree with the philosophy here.

As a slight technical detail, I recommend correcting the
beam-balance reading for buoyancy. I do not think of
helium balloons as having negative mass.

I agree with Hugh Logan that PSSC did a remarkably nice
job of presenting operational definitions of basic notions
including mass and force.