Quote:
Originally Posted by dellagd
You are correct, lb is a unit commonly used for weight. However, it is actually just another unit for force just like N (Newtons).
|
Maybe the more important observation is that
weight is force, by definition. It is
never mass, but is
always related.
However, it is not uncommon in some places (Japan and the U.S. in particular) to use the name of a unit of force as if it is a unit of mass (or vice versa), often without telling anyone. That's stupid and wrong. Sometimes, they'll identify this explicitly, by denoting the unit as lb
m (i.e. pounds mass), as opposed to lb
f (i.e. pounds force = pounds). That's a valid workaround, but still a little bit wrong. I try to use the latter approach when communicating with an audience for which the weight-mass distinction is not demonstrably understood.
The distinction between lb
f and lb
m (or kg
m and kg
f) is the local gravitational acceleration, which you'll have to factor in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by asid61
I would simply plug the numbers into google chrome and it will convert units for you (you may have to fiddle with the formatting of the way you type stuff in though).
|
Google (in general—not just Chrome) will do unit conversions. And it understands "pounds force", "pounds mass" and "lbf",
but not "lbm" for some reason. (Same for kg.) Be explicit about it, though, because it assumes "lb" is pounds force.