Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that can help answer the question.
Query: What is the unit of measurement for force?
A force meter is an instrument to measure the magnitude of a force. This is often just a spring contained within a cylinder that has a scale to mark the extension of the spring produced by the force. In the International System of Units, the unit of force is the newton (symbol N). A force meter that measures force in newtons may be referred to as a newtonmeter.
In 1873 a committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science under the chairmanship of William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) introduced the concept of coherence into units of measure and proposed the names dyne and erg as the units of force and work in the CGS system of units. Two years later James Thomson, older brother of William Thomson, introduced the term poundal as a coherent unit of force in the Foot–pound–second system (FPS) of measurement. The FPS unit of work is the foot-poundal.
The basic SI unit of mass is the kilogram (kg). In physics, mass is not the same as weight, even though mass is often determined by measuring the object's weight using a spring scale, rather than balance scale comparing it directly with known masses. An object on the Moon would weigh less than it does on Earth because of the lower gravity, but it would still have the same mass. This is because weight is a force, while mass is the property that (along with gravity) determines the strength of this force.
In everyday usage, mass and "weight" are often used interchangeably. For instance, a person's weight may be stated as 75 kg. In a constant gravitational field, the weight of an object is proportional to its mass, and it is unproblematic to use the same unit for both concepts. But because of slight differences in the strength of the Earth's gravitational field at different places, the distinction becomes important for measurements with a precision better than a few percent, and for places far from the surface of the Earth, such as in space or on other planets. Conceptually, "mass" (measured in kilograms) refers to an intrinsic property of an object, whereas "weight" (measured in newtons) measures an object's resistance to deviating from its natural course of free fall, which can be influenced by the nearby gravitational field. No matter how strong the gravitational field, objects in free fall are weightless, though they still have mass.
Measurement of light or photometry is generally concerned with the amount of useful light falling on a surface and the amount of light emerging from a lamp or other source, along with the colors that can be rendered by this light. The human eye responds differently to light from different parts of the visible spectrum, therefore photometric measurements must take the luminosity function into account when measuring the amount of useful light. The basic SI unit of measurement is the candela (cd), which describes the luminous intensity, all other photometric units are derived from the candela. Luminance for instance is a measure of the density of luminous intensity in a given direction. It describes the amount of light that passes through or is emitted from a particular area, and falls within a given solid angle. The SI unit for luminance is candela per square metre (cd/m). The CGS unit of luminance is the stilb, which is equal to one candela per square centimetre or 10 kcd/m. The amount of useful light emitted from a source or the luminous flux is measured in lumen (lm).
A Number of units were used to measure mass. Some of units which were used in 1920s too in addition to metric system, and which belonged to old Spanish, American, and local, are provided below:
Magnetic fields are vector quantities characterized by both strength and direction. The strength of a magnetic field is measured in units of tesla in the SI units, and in gauss in the cgs system of units. 10,000 gauss are equal to one tesla. Measurements of the Earth's magnetic field are often quoted in units of nanotesla (nT), also called a gamma. The Earth's magnetic field can vary from 20,000 to 80,000 nT depending on location, fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic field are on the order of 100 nT, and magnetic field variations due to magnetic anomalies can be in the picotesla (pT) range. "Gaussmeters" and "teslameters" are magnetometers that measure in units of gauss or tesla, respectively. In some contexts, magnetometer is the term used for an instrument that measures fields of less than 1 millitesla (mT) and gaussmeter is used for those measuring greater than 1 mT.
The following example concerns definitions of quantities and units. The (average) velocity ("v") of an object is defined as the quantitative physical property of the object that is directly proportional to the distance ("d") traveled by the object and inversely proportional to the time ("t") of travel, i.e., "v" = "kd"/"t", where "k" is a constant that depends on the units used. Suppose that the meter (m) and the second (s) are base units; then the kilometer (km) and the hour (h) are noncoherent derived units. The meter per second (mps) is defined as the velocity of an object that travels one meter in one second, and the kilometer per hour (kmph) is defined as the velocity of an object that travels one kilometer in one hour. Substituting from the definitions of the units into the defining equation of velocity we obtain, 1 mps = "k" m/s and 1 kmph = "k" km/h = 1/3.6 "k" m/s = 1/3.6 mps. Now choose "k" = 1; then the meter per second is a coherent derived unit, and the kilometer per hour is a noncoherent derived unit. Suppose that we choose to use the kilometer per hour as the unit of velocity in the system. Then the system becomes noncoherent, and the numerical value equation for velocity becomes {"v"} = 3.6 {"d"}/{"t"}. Coherence may be restored, without changing the units, by choosing "k" = 3.6; then the kilometer per hour is a coherent derived unit, with 1 kmph = 1 m/s, and the meter per second is a noncoherent derived unit, with 1 mps = 3.6 m/s.
These measurements were in use from 1826, when the new imperial gallon was defined, but were officially abolished in the United Kingdom on 1 January 1971. In the USA, though no longer recommended, the apothecaries' system is still used occasionally in medicine, especially in prescriptions for older medications.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the UK used three different systems for mass and weight. The distinction between mass and weight is not always clearly drawn. Strictly a pound is a unit of mass, although it is commonly referred to as a weight. When a distinction is necessary, the term "pound-force" may be used to refer to a unit of force rather than mass. The troy pound () was made the primary unit of mass by the 1824 Act; however, its use was abolished in the UK on 1 January 1879, with only the troy ounce () and its decimal subdivisions retained. The "Weights and Measures Act 1855" (18 & 19 Victoria C72) made the avoirdupois pound the primary unit of mass. In all the systems, the fundamental unit is the pound, and all other units are defined as fractions or multiples of it.
Several units were used to measure mass. These units are vary from one province or city to another and these units are local units. One rotolo (pound) was equal to 0.448 g. Some other units are given below:
Many different units of measure are used for photometric measurements. People sometimes ask why there need to be so many different units, or ask for conversions between units that can't be converted (lumens and candelas, for example). We are familiar with the idea that the adjective "heavy" can refer to weight or density, which are fundamentally different things. Similarly, the adjective "bright" can refer to a light source which delivers a high luminous flux (measured in lumens), or to a light source which concentrates the luminous flux it has into a very narrow beam (candelas), or to a light source that is seen against a dark background. Because of the ways in which light propagates through three-dimensional space — spreading out, becoming concentrated, reflecting off shiny or matte surfaces — and because light consists of many different wavelengths, the number of fundamentally different kinds of light measurement that can be made is large, and so are the numbers of quantities and units that represent them.
Light is measured with two main alternative sets of units: radiometry consists of measurements of light power at all wavelengths, while photometry measures light with wavelength weighted with respect to a standardised model of human brightness perception. Photometry is useful, for example, to quantify Illumination (lighting) intended for human use. The SI units for both systems are summarised in the following tables.
Sir Isaac Newton described the motion of all objects using the concepts of inertia and force, and in doing so he found they obey certain conservation laws. In 1687, Newton published his thesis "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica". In this work Newton set out three laws of motion that to this day are the way forces are described in physics.
Measurements demand the use of "operational definitions" of relevant quantities. That is, a scientific quantity is described or defined by how it is measured, as opposed to some more vague, inexact or "idealized" definition. For example, electric current, measured in amperes, may be operationally defined in terms of the mass of silver deposited in a certain time on an electrode in an electrochemical device that is described in some detail. The operational definition of a thing often relies on comparisons with standards: the operational definition of "mass" ultimately relies on the use of an artifact, such as a particular kilogram of platinum-iridium kept in a laboratory in France.
The precise strength of Earth's gravity varies depending on location. The nominal "average" value at Earth's surface, known as is, by definition, 9.80665 m/s. This quantity is denoted variously as , (though this sometimes means the normal equatorial value on Earth, 9.78033 m/s), , gee, or simply (which is also used for the variable local value).
The carat (ct) (not to be confused with the karat, sometimes spelled carat, a unit of purity of gold alloys), is a unit of mass equal to 200 mg (0.2 g; 0.007055 oz) and is used for measuring gemstones and pearls.
The current definition, sometimes known as the metric carat, was adopted in 1907 at the Fourth General Conference on Weights and Measures, and soon afterwards in many countries around the world. The carat is divisible into one hundred "points" of two milligrams each. Other subdivisions, and slightly different mass values, have been used in the past in different locations.
A flick is a unit of time equivalent to exactly 1/705,600,000 of a second. The figure was chosen so that frequencies of 24, 25, 30, 48, 50, 60, 90, 100 and 120 Hz, as well as 1/1000 divisions of all those, can be represented with integers. The unit was launched in January 2018 by Facebook. A flick is approximately 1.42 × 10 s, which makes it larger than a nanosecond but much smaller than a microsecond.
In photometry, luminous intensity is a measure of the wavelength-weighted power emitted by a light source in a particular direction per unit solid angle, based on the luminosity function, a standardized model of the sensitivity of the human eye. The SI unit of luminous intensity is the candela (cd), an SI base unit.
There are several distinct phenomena which can be used to measure mass. Although some theorists have speculated that some of these phenomena could be independent of each other, current experiments have found no difference in results regardless of how it is measured:
The principle of Lorentz force velocimetry is based on measurements of the Lorentz force that occurs due to the flow of a conductive fluid under the influence of a variable magnetic field. According to Faraday's law, when a metal or conductive fluid moves through a magnetic field, eddy currents generate there by electromotive force in zones of maximal magnetic field gradient (in the present case in the inlet and outlet zones). Eddy current in its turn creates induced magnetic field according to Ampère's law. The interaction between eddy currents and total magnetic field gives rise to Lorentz force that breaks the flow. By virtue of Newton's third law "actio=reactio" a force with the same magnitude but opposite direction acts upon its source - permanent magnet. Direct measurement of the magnet's reaction force allows to determine fluid's velocity, since this force is proportional to flow rate. The Lorentz force used in LFV has nothing to do with magnetic attraction or repulsion. It is only due to the eddy currents whose strength depends on the electrical conductivity, the relative velocity between the liquid and the permanent magnet as well as the magnitude of the magnetic field.
The atomic mass ("m") is the mass of an atom. Its unit is the unified atomic mass units ("abbr." u) where 1 unified atomic mass unit is defined as of the mass of a single carbon-12 atom, at rest. For atoms, the protons and neutrons of the nucleus account for nearly all of the total mass, and the atomic mass measured in u has nearly the same value as the mass number.
Pressure measurement is the analysis of an applied force by a fluid (liquid or gas) on a surface. Pressure is typically measured in units of force per unit of surface area. Many techniques have been developed for the measurement of pressure and vacuum. Instruments used to measure and display pressure in an integral unit are called pressure gauges or vacuum gauges. A manometer (not to be confused with nanometer) is a good example, as it uses a column of liquid to both measure and indicate pressure. Likewise the widely used Bourdon gauge is a mechanical device, which both measures and indicates and is probably the best known type of gauge.
All these systems are coherent. One that is not is a three-unit system (also called English engineering units) in which "F" = "ma" that uses the pound and the pound-force, one of which is a base unit and the other, a noncoherent derived unit. In place of an explicit proportionality constant, this system uses conversion factors derived from the relation 1 lbf = 32.174 lb⋅ft/s. In numerical calculations, it is indistinguishable from the four-unit system, since what is a proportionality constant in the latter is a conversion factor in the former. The relation among the numerical values of the quantities in the force law is {"F"} = 0.031081 {"m"} {"a"}, where the braces denote the numerical values of the enclosed quantities. Unlike in this system, in a coherent system, the relations among the numerical values of quantities are the same as the relations among the quantities themselves.
A variant of this system applies the unit s/ft to the proportionality constant. This has the effect of identifying the pound-force with the pound. The pound is then both a base unit of mass and a coherent derived unit of force. One may apply any unit one pleases to the proportionality constant. If one applies the unit s/lb to it, then the foot becomes a unit of force. In a four-unit system (English engineering units), the pound and the pound-force are distinct base units, and the proportionality constant has the unit lbf⋅s/(lb⋅ft).
The Gurley unit is a measure of the stiffness of a material. Since the measurement device holds a piece of material vertically and tests the force required to deflect the material a given amount. One Gurley unit is equivalent to one milligram of force
, however the Gurley unit also implies measurement with this apparatus. A related unit, the Taber, is highly correlated but uses a different apparatus (manufactured by Taber Industries) for performing measurements.