In a message dated 98-02-14 21:03:11 EST, Rick Tarara writes:
<< The point is, that whether you operationally define weight as what a
bathroom scale measures or as the net force towards the center of a nearby
large gravitational body, or just as THE force of that large gravitational
body, there are subtleties that you will have to deal with. The choice
seems to be much more a question of personal taste and the degree to which
one has developed a consistent set of instructional tools that address the
choice. To this end, it is very hard to say that any of the popular text
books are _wrong_, only that they might not conform to one's personal
choice. >>
Rick,
I agree with most of your post, but have never seen weight defined in any
physics text book as what a bathroom scale reads. I believe that words have
meanings, especially in the sciences, and when we stray from the definitions,
then we are opening the door to confusion. All of the respectable sources I
have examined give the same definition for weight. I realize that various
situations can be used to examine the meaning of weight, but when all is said,
the definition still is the central focus, regardless of personal taste.
Else, how are we to communicate?