What weighs a million pounds?

[MidnightViper88]

I want a large-scale reference of weight...I want to know what two to three million pounds weighs, since I can't even imagine how much that is, but I don't even know what would weigh a million pounds or even a half-million pounds...

Why? Because I want to know how the hell the Nazis could have possibly built a super-heavy tank like the P 1000 or the P 1500 and even remotly expect such a behemoth to roll out onto the battlefield...

[Mr Jones]

Weight to size is not relevant.

You could have a million pounds of feathers and it'd still weigh the same as a million pounds of gold, the space that it occupies however would be vastly different, but the net weight result would be exactly the same.

[LeadFoot]

How about 4,474,574 lbs? That the listed weight of the Space shuttle. The Saturn-V was a hefty 6,699,000 lbs. Considering they both went into space, that seem pretty amazing.

The M1 Abrams is really light (comparatively speaking) at about 70 tons, and can be carried (one at a time) in a C-5 Galaxy.

But a tank that would have been 15 times the mass of a M1? Holy Crap!

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

Three of these weigh about 1,140,000 pounds altogether.

[Widdykats]

Or my deep dish Lasagna

[k_rock923]

Mmmm. Lasagna. Mail some this way the next time you make it.



Well, according to this site, the maximum weight of an 18 wheeler is 80 000 pounds.

So, 1 000 000 pounds is 12.5 max-weight 18-wheelers.

[P$ycHo™]

i wonder what engine you need to make that weight move...

[SSJ4 Gogitta]

$1,814,369.48 in modern (post 1982) Lincoln cents would weigh exactly 1,000,000 pounds.

Or about $19,999,664 in quarters.


Also, 1 pound of gold (since it's measured in TROY) weighs 0.8228570952 normal pounds.

A normal ton of feathers would weigh 2000 pounds, whereas 2000 troy pounds of gold would weigh 1645.71419 pounds.

In this case, a ton of feathers weighs more than a ton of gold.

[jheriko]

Originally posted by Mr Jones
Weight to size is not relevant.

You could have a million pounds of feathers and it'd still weigh the same as a million pounds of gold, the space that it occupies however would be vastly different, but the net weight result would be exactly the same.

This is a common misconception, although the weight is the same, the density is very relevant. A lead ball falls faster than feathers because it is more dense and offers less surface area to air resistance. Likewise, in the application of a tank, the size matters, and the structure. It would have to distribute the weight effectively without putting too much pressure on anyone point and the more dense it becomes the harder it would be to do this. For example the treads would need to become wider and longer etc... to ensure they are not destroyed under the weight.

For something that weighs 2-3 million pounds you are looking at a small battleship of some kind. Although naval tonnage does not correspond with weight, but rather the volume which the ship encloses, it is still a reasonable approximation. For comparison USS Enterprise displaces on the order of 100,000 tons of water.

EDIT: (2-3 million pounds is conveniently ~1000 metric tons)

[k_rock923]

You didn't really say anything though. Are you disagreeing with Mr Jones that a million pounds of feathers and a million pounds of gold weigh the same?

There is no common misconception at all. They do in fact, both weigh one million pounds.

You added some information, though for a specific case in which it matters. But even that's not entirely true.

It's all air resistance. If you drop a paper thin sheet of lead (ignoring whether it is actually that malleable) and a bowling ball, will the very subject to air resistance piece of lead still fall faster because it is more dense?

[SSJ4 Gogitta]

Originally posted by k_rock923
(ignoring whether it is actually that malleable)

http://www.atnuke.com/nuclear/lead/leadfoil.html

http://www.tv.com/mythbusters/lead-balloon!/episode/1129062/summary.html?tag=ep_list;title;1

[ShyShy]

It's the nerd war of words!!!!

[General Geoff]

You didn't really say anything though. Are you disagreeing with Mr Jones that a million pounds of feathers and a million pounds of gold weigh the same?

There is no common misconception at all. They do in fact, both weigh one million pounds.

They both weigh a million pounds, but the feathers weigh more due to their being measured in avoirdupois pounds vs troy, as SSJ4 mentioned.

[k_rock923]

You're assuming that when I say pound, I mean the common for each. I mean avoirdupois for both.

Sheesh. This is ridiculous.

If I say one million grams instead of pounds, are you going to say 'well, it's not really the same' for that, too or are you just going to admit that maybe there is a single point in a single post that you can't find something wrong with?

[General Geoff]

If you want to be scientific about it, don't use imperial measurements. Use kilograms.

[k_rock923]

read my edit

[General Geoff]

You asked if he disagreed with an obviously flawed statement. I simply reiterated the reason why the statement is flawed because it is imprecise.

[k_rock923]

Your assumption was flawed. You assumed that both Jones and I were unaware of measurement systems.

We could go back and forth on this all night and this would never be settled. It's counterproductive, so I'm letting it go.

[General Geoff]

Assumptions are necessary for effective communication. My assumption was anything but flawed, because it defaulted to the commonly accepted terms of measurement for both substances. So unless you spell out that you're measuring something abnormally, I'm going to assume you're measuring it normally, which in this instance creates an inequity in equivalent mass.


It would be the same if you told me a ship going 30 is doing the same rate of speed as a car doing 30; the ship is actually going faster because ships' speeds are typically measured in nautical miles per hour, not standard miles.

[jheriko]

Originally posted by k_rock923
You didn't really say anything though. Are you disagreeing with Mr Jones that a million pounds of feathers and a million pounds of gold weigh the same?

There is no common misconception at all. They do in fact, both weigh one million pounds.

You added some information, though for a specific case in which it matters. But even that's not entirely true.

It's all air resistance. If you drop a paper thin sheet of lead (ignoring whether it is actually that malleable) and a bowling ball, will the very subject to air resistance piece of lead still fall faster because it is more dense?

I just meant that because a pound of feathers and a pound of gold weigh the same... doesn't make a 1000-ton tank any easier to build

even though that is true, it isn't a useful example for much beyond demonstrating that gravity is a constant acceleration effect

i prolly worded what i meant badly.

[Avion]

What weighs a million pounds?

my penis? Lol roflm@#$@%fds but no really ._. >_>

[General Geoff]

KANEDA!!!

[Too-DAMN-Much]

i'm just guessing here, but i'm pretty sure some trains weigh over that amount, i've been stuck waiting for trains that went on for 25 minutes about.

it's not really a question of what would be able to pull that pull much weight as it is how could the momentum be used most effeciently once attained so as to avoid having to make the thing weigh another million pounds for fuel.

GG - assuming is almost always a bad practice as it's likely to be incorrect more often than not and makes both parties involved look like an ass.

[Rocker]

blah blah blah physics.

[cooky560]

X, where X has a weight of 1million pounds

[ryan]

Originally posted by Rocker
blah blah blah epenis.

[General Geoff]

GG - assuming is almost always a bad practice as it's likely to be incorrect more often than not and makes both parties involved look like an ass.

I'm sorry, I can't understand a single word you're saying because you didn't specify what language you're posting in.

[Psythik]

*enters topic a little too late*

[Too-DAMN-Much]

it's called english for those who aren't retarded.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

Wtf happened to this thread while I was gone for a few days? Damn.

[Vil]

That's what you get for leaving sgt.

[Avion]

Originally posted by Vil
That's what you get for leaving sgt.

yeah I blame it on him and any facial stubble he has.

[ryan]

Originally posted by sgtfuzzbubble99
Wtf happened to this thread while I was gone for a few days? Damn.

Too much e-penis, not enough real shit.

[MidnightViper88]

Originally posted by sgtfuzzbubble99
Wtf happened to this thread while I was gone for a few days? Damn.

A discussion something about Nazi land cruisers turned to something about a penis of some sort...I'm not sure myself...

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

* sgtfuzzbubble99 drops a million pounds worth of high-explosive ordnance on this thread

[Avion]

Originally posted by sgtfuzzbubble99
* sgtfuzzbubble99 drops a million pounds worth of high-explosive ordnance on this thread

I think that would destroy an entire city and more

[Vil]

You assume that it explodes Avlon.

[General Geoff]

Originally posted by Avion
I think that would destroy an entire city and more

Nah, that's only a yield of 500 tons. To destroy a whole city, you'd need something with a nominal yield of at least 10 kilotons (10,000 tons).

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

A million pounds of HE ordnance would level about ten or twelve city blocks. Rawr.

[General Geoff]

Yeah but the explosives themselves would be roughly the size of a city block.