Question

Question #c58c0

Answer 1

Weight is the force that a body puts to whatever it stands on, or hangs from.

Let's begin with mass : it's expressed in `kg` and is fixed. A `1kg` piece of steel will have the same mass anywhere under any conditions.

Then there is gravity : on Earth the force of gravity will pull on every mass with a force equal to about `9.8xxmass` in Newton.

Weigth is interaction of gravity with its surrounding. If I'm standing on a scale, it actually measures the weight- force that my mass is putting on the scales because of gravity. It should be graded in Newton, but they converted it back to `kg` for normal circumstances.

Now for weightlessness :
If you are far away from Earth (or any other sizeable body) there is no gravity, so no weight.

But that's only one way. If you are not interacting with anything (such as the floor you stand on) you are also weightless. This happens when you are in free fall. Imagine you are standing on a scale and the two of you are falling (at the same rate).