WEIGHT AND MASSWeight is the force a body is attracted with

WEIGHT AND MASS

Weight is the force a body is attracted with by the Earth. This force can be measured with a spring balance. The more the body weighs, the more the spring it is suspended on will be stretched. With the aid of a weight it is possible to calibrate the spring make marks which will indicate, how much the spring has been stretched by a weight of one, two, three, etc. kilograms. If, after this, a body is suspended on such a scale, we shall be able to find the force (gravity) of its attraction by the Earth. For measuring weights, one uses not only stretching but also contracting springs.
A calibrated spring can serve to measure not only the force of the Earths attraction, i.e. weight, but also other forces. Such an instrument is called a dynamometer which means a measurer of forces. We can measure a persons muscular force by means of a dynamometer if the person is strong. The weight of the body is one of its very important properties. However, the weight depends not only on the body itself. As a matter of fact, the Earth attracts it.
When we measure weight and compare it with the weight of a standard, we are to find a new property of bodies, which is called mass.
Unlike weight, mass is an invariant property of a body. It depends only on the body. A comparison of weights, i.e. measurements of mass, must be carried out with the aid of ordinary balance scale.
We say that the masses of two bodies are equal if the balance scale on whose pans these bodies are placed is in perfect equilibrium.