Re: [Phys-l] g...

["Anthony Lapinski" <Anthony_Lapinski@pds.org>]

I mean that a scale does not always show your "true weight (w = mg).
Scales show apparent weight -- how heavy you THINK you feel. So when an
elevator accelerates upward, you feel heavier. You feel more pressed to
the ground, and a scale would register a higher reading. It seem like you
are heavier, but you are not as your true weight has not changed (since g
is still 9.8), but your apparent weight has. A scale simply measures the
upward "normal force," while your actual weight is downward. And as we all
know, these forces are sometimes NOT equal.

Forum for Physics Educators <phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu> writes:
> On Sat, 18 Nov 2006 18:43:24 -0500 "Anthony Lapinski"
> <Anthony_Lapinski@pds.org> writes:
> >  So if you jump off a cliff (no air) with a  scale
> > beneath you, it will read zero. No apparent weight, but plenty of 
> > true  weight. 
>
> What does Anthony mean by "true weight" ?
>
>
> There is no such thing as "true weight" unless you mean your weight 
> when you step on a good scale in your home bathroom before breakfast.
>
> Herb Gottlieb from New York City
> (Where our true weight is found when we step on the weight watchers
> scale before the Monday morning weight-watcher lecture every week.)
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