cubic VVV

[Mullins, Bill]

> I wrote "approximately" unclearly.  I meant that one liter of
> water weighs approximately 1000 grams, the gram being the
> presumed weight of one cubic milliliter of water in the early
> definition of the metric system.
>
Again (and I apologize), the anal engineer in me must hyper-correct:
One liter of water _masses_ 1000 grams, gram being a unit of mass rather
than weight.

It would also be correct to say that one liter of water weighs as much
as 1000 grams of water does.

On earth's surface, and any other inertial frame in which the
acceleration (due to gravity or motion) is ~9.81 m/sec/sec, a liter of
water will weigh 9.81 N, or it will weigh ~2.2 lbf (as opposed to a lbm,
which is the unit of mass which weighs one lbf in one standard gravity),
or it will weigh 1 kg-force (a non-standard unit, which conveys the idea
that Joel was alluding to).

</pendant off>