Can two substances combined increase in overall weight?

[Spymaster]

Is it possible to add 100 grammes of something to 100 grammes of something else, and for the combined weight of the product to be more than 200 grammes due to some kind of reaction?

I've been arguing that it's absolutely not (details later).

Am I wrong?

2hats littlebabyjesus gentlegreen

 

[2hats]

E=mc^2

(e2a: eg hit lithium 7 with a proton and you get two alpha particles - the rest mass of the latter exceeds the former though kinetic energy has dropped)

 

[Pickman's model]

Yeh get dodgy scales

 

[Pickman's model]

Is it possible to add 100 grammes of something to 100 grammes of something else, and for the combined weight of the product to be more than 200 grammes due to some kind of reaction?

I've been arguing that it's absolutely not (details later).

Am I wrong?

2hats littlebabyjesus gentlegreen

What sort of reaction have you had from kris?

 

[Spymaster]

What sort of reaction have you had from kris?

Negative usually.

I'm in a boozer and a fella was telling a story about his rucksack getting heavier and heavier during the day. He checked his tote and found that the water was leaking from a bottle in his bag into, err ... his bag, which was causing him some weight discomfort.

This is very clearly ludicrous but it eventually produced a chemistry/physics discussion with someone else saying that it was possible with some chemicals. I've called massive bollocks but the second guy is adamant that it can happen with certain substances. I'm asking "where does the extra weight come from?"

I'm a bit pissed too at the moment, so just wanted to double check with you lot that I'm not just about to get pwned on some weird science that I'm unaware of.

 

[2hats]

Energy. It's a basic tenet of special relativity : mass-energy equivalence. The two are interchangeable.

 

[existentialist]

Energy. It's a basic tenet of special relativity : mass-energy equivalence. The two are interchangeable.

You bastard

 

[FridgeMagnet]

2hats is of course correct that energy could be converted into mass, but I suspect that this occurs rarely if ever in the context of backpacks, or everyday life generally. You would need an awful lot of energy to produce a change in mass that a person could notice.

Of course, sometimes things can combine with the air and increase in mass (eg oxidising metals) but then you’re adding mass from the air. In a closed system there would be no overal change.

 

[Pickman's model]

You bastard

Are you in the boozer with auld spy?

 

[Spymaster]

Energy. It's a basic tenet of special relativity : mass-energy equivalence. The two are interchangeable.

Does that mean I'm right?

 

[FridgeMagnet]

If your friend was in fact the Flash he could have been running at relativistic speeds and the mass of his backpack would have increased. Something the comics seem to ignore.

That would mean you’ve found out his secret identity which is worth some money. He should at least get the next round in.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

If your friend was in fact the Flash he could have been running at relativistic speeds and the mass of his backpack would have increased. Something the comics seem to ignore.

That would mean you’ve found out his secret identity which is worth some money. He should at least get the next round in.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

If your friend was in fact the Flash he could have been running at relativistic speeds and the mass of his backpack would have increased. Something the comics seem to ignore.

That would mean you’ve found out his secret identity which is worth some money. He should at least get the next round in.

Maybe the pub has fallen through a wormhole and is travelling at an appreciable fraction of c, hence the weird effects on the backpack.

 

[Spymaster]

Of course, sometimes things can combine with the air and increase in mass (eg oxidising metals) but then you’re adding mass from the air. In a closed system there would be no overal change.

Ahhhh, this could fuck me up.

Can the addition of air increase weight though?

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Ahhhh, this could fuck me up.

Can the addition of air increase weight though?

Yes, as air has mass. It's just mass that happens to float.

 

[twentythreedom]

Lol, bet spy's gutted. Spy the next round is on you mate

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Ahhhh, this could fuck me up.

Can the addition of air increase weight though?

Yes, but I wouldn’t give in on that - I’d point out that you’re adding mass from the air, it doesn’t come from nowhere. It’s like blowing up a balloon and it weighs more and saying “look the balloon is heavier now by magic” - it’s heavier because you’ve filled it with air, which has mass.

 

[existentialist]

Are you in the boozer with auld spy?

I wish...

 

[Baronage-Phase]

I've often wondered why eating 200g of chocolate turns into 2lbs of fat the next day.

 

[Ralph Llama]

The only way that would be possible is if the reaction brought in surrounding elements :/ (air)

 

[Spymaster]

I've often wondered why eating 200g of chocolate turns into 2lbs of fat the next day.

Totally the same as that.

I eat half a pound of MiL's curry and put on a kilo ... honest!

 

[Spymaster]

Yes, as air has mass. It's just mass that happens to float.

Lol, bet spy's gutted. Spy the next round is on you mate

Yes, but I wouldn’t give in on that - I’d point out that you’re adding mass from the air, it doesn’t come from nowhere. It’s like blowing up a balloon and it weighs more and saying “look the balloon is heavier now by magic” - it’s heavier because you’ve filled it with air, which has mass.

Actually, I think this was what he was arguing.

Fortunately we've left that pub and are now elsewhere

HA! Take that, science boy

 

[AverageJoe]

It's more likely that the more your man drinks, the heavier the bag feels.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I've often wondered why eating 200g of chocolate turns into 2lbs of fat the next day.

Totally the same as that.

I eat half a pound of MiL's curry and put on a kilo ... honest!

Dark matter contamination in the food.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

It's more likely that the more your man drinks, the heavier the bag feels.

Perhaps the water is being converted into heavy water through neutrino bombardment.

 

[Idaho]

I've often wondered why eating 200g of chocolate turns into 2lbs of fat the next day.

Sugar triggers an insulin response. Your body then converts an increased amount of your blood glucose to fat.

 

[19sixtysix]

If you perform your chemical recation in an atmosphere you may find the product is heavier than the two starting products as the gas in the atmosphere has reacted as well.

 

[mauvais]

Is it possible to add 100 grammes of something to 100 grammes of something else, and for the combined weight of the product to be more than 200 grammes due to some kind of reaction?

Yes. You could simply change the force of gravity - suppose for example that your experiment caused another planet to collide with the Earth.

 

[Baronage-Phase]

Sugar triggers an insulin response. Your body then converts an increased amount of your blood glucose to fat.

Yes...I know...lol
It's still weird.

 

[gentlegreen]

Sugar triggers an insulin response. Your body then converts an increased amount of your blood glucose to fat.

As opposed to what ? Leaving a toxic level of glucose in the blood ?