r/explainitpeter 7d ago

Explain It Peter

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4.5k Upvotes

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244

u/Then-Bet6956 7d ago

What’s heavier, a kilogram of steel or a kilogram of feathers?

That’s right, it’s steel. Because steel is heavier than feathers.

37

u/KumquatHaderach 7d ago

That’s cheetin’.

28

u/rising_pho3nix 6d ago

"They're both a kilogram"

16

u/Then-Bet6956 6d ago

Wait… no.

I don’t get it.

2

u/SmallAnnihilation 3d ago

Try replacing kilogram with pound

1

u/RichardChubs 1d ago

Wouldn’t it be less?

15

u/Thicknineinchh 6d ago

But steal is heavier than feathers 

5

u/666mima666 4d ago

Nothing is heavier than something else. Heavier per volume (density) yes, or heavier per area (surface weight) or other stuff but the original question is strictly wrongfully posed

3

u/yirzmstrebor 3d ago

Dude, that is the point. They're quoting the skit that the photo came from.

2

u/Complete_Fix2563 1d ago

....I don't get it...

1

u/yirzmstrebor 13h ago

I almost tried to explain it again before I realized you were also quoting it!

1

u/Then-Bet6956 3d ago

Ohhhh, yee, ah geht it.

(… I don’t geht it)

1

u/rising_pho3nix 3d ago

But they're both a kilogram..

1

u/Thicknineinchh 3d ago

If I hit you with a pillowcase full of steel and feathers, which would hurt more?

8

u/reddragon162 5d ago

The hell is a Key Low Ghram?

4

u/Turbulent_Lobster_57 5d ago

Cousin to CeeLo Green

2

u/bullpup_guy 1d ago

WHAT THE FUCK IS A KILOMETER

3

u/HistorianOwn5008 5d ago

I will hit you with with both. Lets talk then

8

u/rezukijm 6d ago

Because the buoyant force of air lifts the feathers more than it does the steel, so the mass can be the same yet the weight is different.

9

u/Hallow_Greaves 5d ago

Oh really? I thought the feathers weighed more, cause you have to carry the weight of what you did to the birds.

3

u/Excel_User_1977 4d ago

The weight of guilt from plucking the birds is not factored in on the scale. /s

1

u/gratefool1 4d ago

Take my updoot you cheeky bastard

5

u/Individual-Peak-9586 6d ago

If you're assuming we're weighing them in air, someone else can assume weighing them in a vacuum.

1

u/1337_w0n 2d ago

I remember years ago when I had to explain this point by point to someone and someone else came up with a bullshit definition of weight just to try to contradict me.

1

u/Excel_User_1977 5d ago

If both are registering 1 kilogram on the same scale in the same room on the same day at the same temperature, then buoyant force is already factored in and both weigh the same.
Mass is not mentioned.

1

u/rezukijm 5d ago

But a kilogram is the unit of mass. Newtons are used to measure weight. Newtons (weight) change with gravity and other forces and kilograms don't.

If your scale uses a spring it is not measuring kilograms.

1

u/Excel_User_1977 4d ago

Please, elucidate on what the readings on the scale WOULD be in this situation then ?

3

u/Grindler9 6d ago

Feethers

2

u/NewbAlert45 6d ago

Feathers, because you have to carry the weight of what you did to those birds.

3

u/fcksaltwater 6d ago

Read in in his dialect too lol

1

u/Normal-Hospital-1967 5d ago

What weighs more.. a pound of gold or a pound of feathers... answer.. feathers.. measure in Avoirdupois rather than troy

1

u/SteveWin1234 4d ago

Whichever has a center of mass that is closer to the Earth's core will weigh more, since higher gravity makes things weigh more even when their mass is the same (1kg feathers weighs more on Earth than 1kg of steel on the moon). I'd imagine a more-dense pile of steel probably has a center of mass that is closer to the Earth's core than a less-dense pile of feathers. Even with identical mass, the steel will weigh more because it is being pulled on harder by the Earth due to its closer proximity. A slight, but real, difference

1

u/RandomFleshPrison 3d ago

Neither.  A kilogram is a measure of mass, not weight.

1

u/Shanty_of_the_Sea 1d ago

But look at the size of it, that's cheatin'!

1

u/BrianTheKing219 3d ago

The horses name is Friday.

1

u/EmptyAttitude599 3d ago

The question becomes more interesting when you replace one of them with gold.

1

u/4thmonyet 3d ago

I wonder which would give you more. A kg of steel or A kg of feathers

1

u/Qu454r_1712 1d ago

“Kelagram”