Slug (mass)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The slug is a unit of mass associated with Imperial units and United States customary units. It is a
mass that accelerates by 1 ft/s2 when a force of one pound (lbF) is exerted on it.
One slug has a mass of 32.174049 lbm or 14.593903 kg based on standard gravity, the international
foot, and the avoirdupois pound.[1] At the surface of the Earth, an object with a mass of 1 slug exerts
a force of approximately 32.2 lbF or 143 N.[2][3]
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Similar units
3 References
4 External links
History[edit]
The slug is part of a subset of units known as the gravitational FPS system, one of several such
specialized systems of mechanical units developed in the late 19th and the 20th
century. Geepound was another name for this unit in early literature.[4]
The name "slug" was coined before 1900 by British physicist Arthur Mason Worthington,[5] but it did
not see any significant use until decades later. A 1928 textbook says:
No name has yet been given to the unit of mass and, in fact, as we have developed the theory of
dynamics no name is necessary. Whenever the mass, m, appears in our formulae, we substitute the
ratio of the convenient force-acceleration pair (w/g), and measure the mass in lbs. per ft./sec.2 or in
grams per cm./sec.2.
Noel Charlton Little, College Physics, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1928, p. 165.
Three approaches to mass and force units[6][7]
V
T
E
force, length, time
weight, length, time
mass, length, time
Base
Force (F)
Weight (w)
F = ma = wa/g
F = ma/g = wa/g
F = ma = wa/g
w = mg
w = mg/g m
w = mg
System
BG
GM
EE
AE
CGS MTS
SI
Acceleration
(a)
ft/s2
m/s2
ft/s2
m/s2
ft/s2
Gal
m/s2
m/s2
Mass (m)
slug
hyl
lbm
kg
lb
kg
Force (F)
lb
kp
lbF
kp
pdl
dyn
sn
lb/in2
at
PSI
atm
pdl/ft
Ba
pz
Pa
Pressure (p)
The slug is listed in the Regulations under the Weights and Measures (National Standards) Act,
1960. This regulation defines the units of weights and measures, both regular and metric, in
Australia.
Similar units[edit]
The blob is the inch version of the slug (1 blob = 1 lbfs2/in = 12 slugs)[1] or equivalent to 175.126 kg.
This unit is also called slinch (a portmanteau of the words slug and inch).[8][9]Similar terms
include slugette,[10] and a snail.[11]
Similar metric units include the "glug" in the centimetre-gram-second system, and the "mug", "par",
or "MTE" in the metre-kilogram-second system.[12]
References[edit]
1.
^ Jump up to:a b Shigley, Joseph E. and Mischke, Charles
R. Mechanical Engineering Design, Sixth ed, pp. 3133. McGraw Hill,
2001. ISBN 0-07-365939-8.
2.
Jump up^ Beckwith, Thomas G., Roy D. Marangoni, et al. Mechanical
Measurements, Fifth ed, pp. 34-36. Addison-Wesley Publishing,
1993. ISBN 0-201-56947-7.
3.
Jump up^ Shevell, R.S. Fundamentals of Flight, Second ed, p. xix.
Prentice-Hall, 1989.
4.
Jump up^ [1]. [Link]
5.
Jump up^ Worthington, Arthur Mason (1900). Dynamics of Rotation:
An Elementary Introduction to Rigid Dynamics (3rd ed.). Longmans,
Green, and Co. p. 9.
6.
Jump up^ Michael R. Lindeburg (2011). Civil Engineering Reference
Manual for the Pe Exam. Professional
Publications. ISBN 1591263417.
7.
Jump up^ Wurbs, Ralph A, Fort Hood Review Sessions for
Professional Engineering Exam (PDF), retrieved October 26, 2011
8.
Jump up^ Slug. DiracDelta Science & Engineering Encyclopedia
9.
Jump up^ "1 blob". Wolfram Alpha Computational Knowledge Engine.
Retrieved 27 October 2011.
10. Jump up^ Celmer, Robert. Notes to Accompany Vibrations II. Version
2.2. 2009.
11. Jump up^ [2]
12. Jump up^ Cardarelli, Franois (1999). Scientific Units, Weights and
Measures. Springer. pp. 358, 377. ISBN 1-85233-682-X.
External links[edit]
"What is a Slug?" on [Link]
Categories:
Imperial units
Units of mass
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