Which Is Heavier – A Pound Of Gold Or A Pound Of Feathers?
September 29th, 2008
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Most people would assume that a pound of gold is heavier…after all, it’s a metal, and feathers are inherently light. The trick here, though, is that the system for measuing weight is different for the two objects. Gold is measured using troy pounds, while feathers are measured using avoirdupois pounds. A troy pound has 12 ounces; avoirdupois pounds have 16 ounces. A troy pound contains 372 grams in the metric system; an avoirdupois pound contains 454 grams. Each troy ounce is heavier than an avoirdupois ounce. Thus, a pound of feathers weighs more than a pound of gold!
[Source : The Handy Science Answer Book]