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Q:
The website says a Boeing 747's wing can produce one pound per square inch of lift. If lift is a force, why is it being expressed in pounds(a unit of mass)?
A:
Traditionally, pounds (lbs) are a unit of force as well. There is such thing as pound-mass, but this is a very uncommon and rarely used unit. In the Imperial system, pounds are a unit of force (like Newtons) and slugs are a unit of mass (like kilograms).
Posted on September 15, 2014 at 11:53 am
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