# How much does a second weigh? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 5, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214 "2008-03-05T18:32:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/21 "2008-03-05T23:51:15Z")
[QUOTE=naita] c in E = mc^2 is a fundamental constant. You can’t pick it apart. [/QUOTE] In other words…_(pinches off about yea much between thumb and index finger)_…about yea much. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/22 "2008-03-05T23:53:45Z")
I think y’all are using the wrong equations to get to this. Since time is money, shouldn’t we be working at this from a seconds-to-troy ounces conversion? ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/23 "2008-03-06T00:11:03Z")
Seconds don’t weigh much at all. It’s simpler to weigh an hour and divide by 3600. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/24 "2008-03-06T00:17:51Z")
The question is meaningless. One is entirely free to chose one’s second, so a second may be heavy or light. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/25 "2008-03-06T00:34:57Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] In other words…_(pinches off about yea much between thumb and index finger)_…about yea much. [/QUOTE] About the same as a red cunt-hair? ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/26 "2008-03-06T02:54:05Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Are you folks serious, or is this going to come around to the Henway? [QUOTE=panache45] _ **PLEEZE** _, don’t anybody ask!!! [/QUOTE] Sorry, I can’t help myself. I need to know… What’s a henway? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/27 "2008-03-06T04:35:46Z")
[QUOTE=BiblioCat] Sorry, I can’t help myself. I need to know… What’s a henway? 😃 [/QUOTE] Less than a Grecian Urn. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/28 "2008-03-06T04:38:04Z")
[QUOTE=danceswithcats] Less than a Grecian Urn. [/QUOTE] I would have guessed about 5 pounds. ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/29 "2008-03-06T05:23:45Z")
I may be mistaken, but IIRC, the reason you can’t “weigh” a second is that it is a fundamental unit. The fundamental units of measurement are mass, distance and time (and one other I have forgotten? Charge?). These units are used to derive all other units of measurement like weight, velocity, pressure, energy etc. But since they are fundamental, they cannot be defined in terms of other units. No combination of distance and time can define a mass. No permutation of mass and distance can describe a time and so on. So the OP’s question is meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![Dwarf\_Caiman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dwarf\_Caiman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dwarf_Caiman)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/30 "2008-03-06T05:33:01Z")
[QUOTE=Will Repair] Substituting “Distance divided by Time” in the equation "E=MC2 and then solving for "Time = ", how much does a second weigh at sea level? [/QUOTE] 1/60 of a standard minute, 1/3600 of the standard hour. Sorta like, what is the average temperature of the Earth knowing we are in the throes of Global Warming: Whatever the current termperature is—Minus 1 degree. (hehe heh) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/31 "2008-03-06T07:31:26Z")
[QUOTE=danceswithcats] Seconds don’t weigh much at all. It’s simpler to weigh an hour and divide by 3600. [/QUOTE] Is that an hour of gold or an hour of lead? apologies to Anne Morrow Lindbergh ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/32 "2008-03-06T16:32:02Z")
Time = Money. The current UK minimum wage is £5.52 per hour, or about 0.153 pence per second. The pound sterling dates back to King Offa, who introduced the silver penny weighing 22.5 troy grains (1.458 grams). Of course, decimal pennies are equal to 2.4 pre-decimal pennies, so nowadays, one second weighs (1.458 x 0.153 x 2.4) = approximately **0.535 grams** of fine silver. Or at least it would, if a pound was still a pound… ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/33 "2008-03-06T19:45:43Z")
[QUOTE=danceswithcats] Less than a Grecian Urn. [/QUOTE] What’s a … no, can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/34 "2008-03-06T20:18:19Z")
> [@](#): > > 1 s = 4.04x10[sup]35[/sup] kg > > (Hint: convert everything into Planck units.) You don’t even need to go that far. You can convert time to mass using only G and c, without even needing [del]h[/del]. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/35 "2008-03-06T20:25:27Z")
A second weighs twice as much as a first. ---
**Author:** ![Vorpal\_Blade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/9de0a6/32.png) [@Vorpal\_Blade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vorpal_Blade)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/36 "2008-03-06T22:43:31Z")
[QUOTE=Will Repair] Substituting “Distance divided by Time” in the equation "E=MC2 and then solving for "Time = ", how much does a second weigh at sea level? [/QUOTE] Blue. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/37 "2008-03-06T23:13:14Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] A second weighs twice as much as a first. [/QUOTE] Thinking back to my first two, I think you’re pretty close to right on that one. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/38 "2008-03-06T23:54:00Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] A second weighs twice as much as a first. [/QUOTE] Therefore, a second is equal to (Who _x_ 2), because Who, being on first, is equal thereto. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/39 "2008-03-07T00:02:36Z")
[QUOTE=danceswithcats] Therefore, a second is equal to (Who _x_ 2), because Who, being on first, is equal thereto. [/QUOTE] What? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214/40 "2008-03-07T00:41:47Z")
[QUOTE=garygnu] What? [/QUOTE] Dr. Seuss (or at least an imitation ;)) I’d reckon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-does-a-second-weigh/440214.md?page=3)