What is the weight?

We explain what the weight is and what is the difference between weight and mass. In addition, what are their different meanings and some examples.

1. What is the weight?

The word peso comes from the Latin term pensum . First, this concept can be defined as the force with which the planet Earth attracts bodies . However, the word weight can be interpreted in various ways, depending on the discipline from which it is treated.

From physics , the concept of weight is understood as the force exerted by a certain body on the point at which it is supported . It finds its origin in the acceleration of gravity . From physics it is elementary to distinguish two concepts that are often confused or used as synonyms, which are mass and weight.

• In the first place, it is not a particular property of bodies, but it is conditioned by the gravitational field in which they are found, that is, bodies.
• Instead, the concept of mass refers to the amount of matter that the body being studied has. That is to say that the mass of a body is the same on planet earth or on the moon, while the weigh will vary markedly.

The weigh of a certain body is calculated from the multiplication between mass and the acceleration of gravity . The unit in which the result will be expressed are units of force, the one determined by the International System of Units is the Newton, commonly abbreviated with the letter N. Within the technical system the unit called kilogram / force is used, which is usually abbreviated as Kgf.

2. What is the difference between weight and mass?

It is important to know how to differentiate what mass is, that is, the amount of matter a body has, from weigh.

• The mass is measured in kilograms and a balance is used for this.
• Weigh is the force that gravity exerts on a mass, and is measured with a dynamometer, measured in Newtons. The weight varies according to latitude and altitude, the mass, however, is constant, since it does not depend on external factors such as gravitational force.

So, what we normally call weight, such as when we weigh ourselves   on a scale and see how many kilos our body weighs, we are talking about mass, not weight. However, this is not important, since, in reality, there would be no major differences.

In chemistry reference is made to the weigh as an atomic, this is defined as the number assigned to chemical elements to establish the mass of their atoms . This weight will be average since from the different isotopes of the same element we can obtain different values, which is why an estimated value is calculated between the different variants of the same element. To calculate the atomic mass the mass of the carbon atom is used as a reference.

In sports , more precisely in boxing, weigh is used as an element to make distinctions in the categories of competitors . Some examples are the flyweight, which are competitors of less than 51 kilograms, the featherweight, where those athletes of less than 57 kg can compete, the light weight, whose competitors cannot exceed 60 Kg, the heavyweight, where Athletes must weigh less than 91 kg, the heavyweight, which are those competed that exceed 91kg, among many other intermediate categories.

Another completely different way of using the term is in the name given to certain currencies . Currently there are several countries, just under a dozen, where they call their legal currency peso. The currencies of these countries have a different value, they only have their common origin, which is the old Spanish currency.

3. Other uses of the word peso

• First, the word weigh refers to a balance as an apparatus used for weighing . On a scale, weight can be used to balance and pressure another object to calculate its weight.
• It can also be considered a burden on the responsibility , burden or concern that a person feels about a situation.
• Regarding an issue, a person or an object, we also talk about weight with respect to its importance or influence .
• The specific weight of an object is the weight of that object in relation to its volume .
• The atomic weigh is the average mass of the atoms in a given element.
• The molecular weigh indicates the sum of the atomic weights that make up a compound .
• When we talk about a product, we can refer to the gross weigh , that is, the total weight next to its wrap, box or container, or the net weight, without any of that.
• For a merchant ship, dead weight is the maximum weight load it can carry.
• For humans , weight refers to a matter of body mass related to development and health status .
• As a unit of currency , the currency used in certain Latin American countries is called peso, including Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay, and so on.
• In sport, the word weight is used to refer to the categories of boxing fighters and other types of melee.