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Expert: Daniel Mazur - 2/2/2006


Question
Hi,

I am 43 and when it comes to fill in some official forms about my education, I have to fill in None, because I have not got any official qualification.

Now the question, should be very easy for you.

Let us say there is one kg weight hanging on a string. With what force is that weight pulling the string, in joules?

Answer
Dear Sir,

the quantity we call "force" is not measured in "joules", but in "newtons". "Joule" is a unit of "energy", which is something very different from "force".

Should you be satisfied with my answer in the proper units, the pulling force of 1 kg weight on Earth is approximately 10 N (ten newtons). I say "approximately", because the force slightly depends on where on Earth you are hanging the weight.

I hope you accept my explanation and answer.
With best regards,
Daniel

Careers: Physics

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Questions anyone (teenager, undergrad, graduate, professional) may ask on physics, mathematics or inorganic chemistry. Questions may concern subjects themselves or a possible future career in them, if you need advice on a school or hobby project, or you just came across a question that is beyond your current curriculum. I answer bare textbook problems sometimes, but I reserve the the right to redirect you to Physics-Physics section. The kind of questions I like to answer: I just started having science classes at school and they seem difficult, but I enjoy them. Where do I find more information on this, which is not in textbooks but still comprehensible to me? Just leaving high school, and I feel science is really the thing for me. Can you recommend a school and an undergrad program suitable to my inclinations? I am in my second undergraduate year in Physics. We learned the basics of universe expanding this year, the Hubble constant and all that, but invited speakers that gave talks on astrophysics in our department seemed not to agree with this model at all. Is it of any use at all? I am building a [materials research] experimental device for my masters/doctorate thesis and I have the following problem:... I have tried ..., but it still doesn't work. Where might the problem be?

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