Talk:Pound (mass)

Bible as evidence of translation of

I deleted the following statement because the citation not only doesn't support it, it says something completely different:

The Greek μνᾶ (mna) was about one pound (see Mina (unit)), and the word is translated as "pound" in some translations of the Bible.<ref>For example the [[King James Version]], Luke, chapter 19</ref>

Luke 19:15 clearly states that the reference is to money, not mass – pound (currency), not pound (mass). Furthermore, the citation gives no information about the corresponding Greek text. If it is to be reinstated, a far better case is needed here first. --John Maynard Friedman (talk) 00:14, 21 March 2021 (UTC)

Pounds as measurement of force, not mass

In the article, multiple times the “pound” is referred to as a way to measure mass. This is incorrect as the pound is a measurement of force which will change based on gravitational force. Mass will not change due to gravitational force. 69.5.125.147 (talk) 01:30, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

This article is about a unit of mass. For the unit of force see Pound (force). Dondervogel 2 (talk) 04:50, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

Redefinition in terms of the kilogram

I'm interested in knowing how the exact number was chosen for the redefinition of the avoirdupois pound in terms of the kilogram. Was it based on weighing the physical prototype of the pound? Just one, or were there several prototypes weighed? If so, who did it, and when, and how? And so on. — The Anome (talk) 09:37, 3 June 2022 (UTC)

Update: it was all in the article, just not easy to find. I've refactored things so that it's clearer, including linking the International Yard and Pound article. — The Anome (talk) 10:27, 3 June 2022 (UTC)

I agree, the metric equivalent of the various historical (and for that matter their modern counterparts) weights need to be more clearly tabulated.150.227.15.253 (talk) 12:47, 25 January 2024 (UTC)

Blockquote of British law

In Pound (mass)#Current use, the text of a British law is included. It is lengthy and unnecessary as part of main article. As a reference, a citation to the source is all that is required. Perhaps move it elsewhere down at end of article? Senator2029 【talk】 23:46, 4 September 2022 (UTC)

international law and international standard?

"most common today is the international avoirdupois pound, which is legally defined as exactly 0.45359237 kilograms, and which is divided into 16 avoirdupois ounces."

I do not understand international with legally. Does this mean several countries have agreed a same definition? Yes: The United States and the Commonwealth of Nations agreed upon common definitions for the pound and the yard.

Also might be the metric system is more common at global level while US and UK still use the lb pound.

"The international standard symbol for the avoirdupois pound is lb;"

It looks like it means the pound would be an international unit. I do not believe this symbol is used on continental Europe, for instance. Do you mean something like "This allows English speaking countries to use a same symbol?"

Or that might mean that the United States and the Commonwealth of Nations agreed upon that symbol which is not part of the international standard (the metric one), but part of this specific standard.

More details (including an image) might make it more understandable for those people not living within the United States and the Commonwealth of Nations— Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.120.88.229 (talk) 19:39, 18 January 2025 (UTC)

An "international standard" only requires two nations to be "international". But anyway, the relevant international standard is the International yard and pound agreement (1959). As far as I can see, the article hyperlinks there at first use of "international" and "legally defined". (BTW, it is really only the US that continues to use the pound as a primary measure.) --𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 00:11, 19 January 2025 (UTC)

The symbol lb is specified by IEEE Std 260.1-2004, presently reference [2] in the article. Dondervogel 2 (talk) 11:33, 19 January 2025 (UTC)