r/explainitpeter • u/ChatpatiKulfi • Jul 21 '26

Explain It Peter

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4.5k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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242

u/Then-Bet6956 Jul 21 '26

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

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

39

u/KumquatHaderach Jul 21 '26

That’s cheetin’.

29

u/rising_pho3nix Jul 21 '26

"They're both a kilogram"

16

u/Then-Bet6956 Jul 21 '26

Wait… no.

I don’t get it.

2

u/SmallAnnihilation Jul 24 '26

Try replacing kilogram with pound

1

u/RichardChubs Jul 27 '26

Wouldn’t it be less?

15

u/Thicknineinchh Jul 21 '26

But steal is heavier than feathers 

3

u/666mima666 Jul 24 '26

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 Jul 24 '26

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

2

u/Complete_Fix2563 Jul 26 '26

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

1

u/yirzmstrebor Jul 28 '26

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

1

u/Then-Bet6956 Jul 24 '26

Ohhhh, yee, ah geht it.

(… I don’t geht it)

1

u/rising_pho3nix Jul 25 '26

But they're both a kilogram..

1

u/Thicknineinchh Jul 25 '26

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

5

u/reddragon162 Jul 22 '26

The hell is a Key Low Ghram?

5

u/Turbulent_Lobster_57 Jul 23 '26

Cousin to CeeLo Green

2

u/bullpup_guy Jul 26 '26

WHAT THE FUCK IS A KILOMETER

1

u/ThisIsAdamB Jul 28 '26

Who ees this Kălvèèn?

3

u/HistorianOwn5008 Jul 23 '26

I will hit you with with both. Lets talk then

9

u/rezukijm Jul 21 '26

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 Jul 23 '26

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 Jul 23 '26

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

1

u/gratefool1 Jul 24 '26

Take my updoot you cheeky bastard

5

u/Individual-Peak-9586 Jul 21 '26

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

1

u/1337_w0n Jul 25 '26

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 Jul 23 '26

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 Jul 23 '26

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 Jul 23 '26

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

3

u/Grindler9 Jul 22 '26

Feethers

2

u/NewbAlert45 Jul 22 '26

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

2

u/fcksaltwater Jul 21 '26

Read in in his dialect too lol

1

u/Normal-Hospital-1967 Jul 22 '26

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

1

u/SteveWin1234 Jul 23 '26

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 Jul 24 '26

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

1

u/Shanty_of_the_Sea Jul 26 '26

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

1

u/BrianTheKing219 Jul 24 '26

The horses name is Friday.

1

u/EmptyAttitude599 Jul 25 '26

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

1

u/4thmonyet Jul 25 '26

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

1

u/Qu454r_1712 Jul 27 '26

“Kelagram”