Re: Force Sensors Must Measure Acceleration??

["A. R. Marlow" <marlow@beta.loyno.edu>]

On Wed, 9 Apr 1997, David Bowman wrote:
....
> BTW, since gravitational forces (locally) are not "real" but are artifacts of
> the use of a noninertial frame used to describe the physics, I prefer *not*
> to define the concept of "weight" as (the magnitude of) the gravitational
> force on an object.  Such a definition makes an object's weight depend on the
> coordinate system of the observer.  I prefer to define weight as what others
> define as "apparent weight" which is simply the magnitude of the
> *non*gravitational force of support on a body which prevents a free fall
> state (or equivalently, which deflects the motion from a free fall state).
> This definition of weight is independent of the frame of the observer and
> agrees with our usual sensations of weight.
>
> David Bowman
> dbowman@gtc.georgetown.ky.us

Bravo to David Bowman's whole post, of which only the end is reproduced
above.  If this thread evoked only that it would be worth it.

A. R. Marlow                          E-MAIL:  marlow@beta.loyno.edu
Department of Physics, Box 124        PHONE:   (504) 865 3647  (Office)  
Loyola University                                    865 2245  (Home)
New Orleans, LA  70118                FAX:     (504) 865 2453