This document provides an overview of different systems used to measure mass throughout history including the apothecaries system, avoirdupois system, troy system, metric system, and American system. It discusses the units used in each system such as grains, ounces, pounds and kilograms. The document also explores the difference between mass and weight and provides sources for further information.
In 1600 Johannes Kepler was the first to give an accurate orbit of the planets add I doing so he was the first to describe gravitational mass. Sir Isaac Newton was the person who universalized Mass and said that everything had it and therefor every object generates a gravitational field. Newton was the first to proclaim inertial mass. Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The greater the mass (of the object being accelerated) the greater the amount of force needed (to accelerate the object).
NASA need to know the mass of the satellites and astronauts that go into space. Engineers when they are designing something they need to know exact specifications of mass to give to the manufactures. Ships that carry cargo need to know the mass of the cargo so they don’t tip or sink the ship. Pharmaceutical engineers use mass to make medication. Medication need to be exact to perfect mass to give the correct amount of medication to the prescribed.
The apothecary System was created at the decline of the roman empire. The system was the everyday weight system for the roman empire. It was used up until 1858 when it was abolished for the avoirdupois system. Units for the Apothecary System are the Grain, The Scruple, the dram the ounces and the pound. 64.79891 milligrams in a grain, 20 grains in a scruple, 3 scruple in a dram, 8 drams in an ounce, and 12 ounces in a pound.
Empress Theresia of Austria reformed the measurements in 1761. Napoleon Bonaparte in 1812 introduced the old apothecary system. This system would be used in pharmaceutical engineering to create medication. Even though medication is generally only measured in milligrams the people whop create the medication use this unit. Some herbal remedies may use this system.
The units are the grain which is 64.79891 milligrams the dram which is 27.34375 grains and the ounce which is 16 drams and the pound which is 16 ounces and the hundred weight which is 100 pounds the ton which is 2 hundred weights and the long hundred weight which is 112 poundss and the long ton which is 20 long hundred weights.
The Avoirdupois system could’ve originated in France or Florence Historians don’t know the exact place of origin. The system was originally used to measure weight of wool in circa 1300 in England. Henry VII made the system, mandatory. And queen Elizabeth made the pont 7000 grams.This system would be used for packaging and shipping. The smaller units would be used for packaging for things through the mail and the larger units would be used for shipping via cargo ship.
The system was first used in the 1400’s and in 1527 it was made official to measure gold and silver. The origin of the system is unknown nowadays this system is really only being used for coinage. The system was first used in Europe before they adopted the metric system. The second main part of the system is the mint system. The mint system is used in the making of coins.
For the regular troy system the units are milligram and 64.79891 milligrams is a grain, and 24 grains is a pennyweight and 20 pennyweights is an ounce and 12 ounces is a pound. However and in the mint system the units go in the following order it starts with the grain the grain is 20 mites and a mite is 24 droits and a droit is 20 perits and a perit is 24 blanks.
The information on the metric system is basic knowledge so I’m not going to go into that. The history of the metric system of mass is nearly impossible to find. The main unit in the metric system of mass is the kilogram. The metric system is a standard in Europe so it is widely used there. And also he metric system is widely used in industry in the US just n case that it will go outside the US and be made there.
The history of the American system was most likely created by one American being like the US should have it own system of mass. Like the metric system only has one main unit it’s the slug a slug is one pound by foot per second squared.
The first to propose atomic mass was John Dalton in 1803 then after many proposals later They finally all agreed on carbon-12 as being the one based on in the atomic mass unit. The one and only unit for atomic mass is the amu (unified atomic mass unit) one amu is 1.660538921(27)10₂⁷The amu would be commonly used in nanotechnology for example like making carbon nanotubes
Carats would be used to determine the mass of for example a gold ring. A gamma would be used is equal top one microgram and would be used and is rarely ever used. The electron volt is not an SI unit and must be obtained expirementally.
The most commonly used tool to measure mass is the scale whether it’s a Manuel or electric the both measure the exact same thing. A mass spectrometer is very complicated process. And it is done to measure the atomic mass
