• sift@lemmy.worldEnglish
      191·
      11 months ago

      And measuring in moles is way less crazy than measuring in eagles.

    • MarcomachtKuchen@feddit.deEnglish
      92·
      11 months ago

      Im debating with myself whether moles are truly a units because unlike other units moles are just a conveniently large amount but unlike other units moles could fully be replaced by a factor

      • Bumblefumble@lemm.eeEnglish
        7·
        11 months ago

        Yeah they aren’t a unit in the sense that they make a non-quantifiable measure quantifiable. In dimensional analysis they would have the dimension [1]. But they can still be regarded as a unit since they act in the exact same way, just like other factors do. But yeah, they are more akin to the SI prefixes like kilo, or something like a dozen or a gross.

      • batmaniam@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        11 months ago

        A mole isn’t just convenient. I’m sure there’s a youtube somewhere that explains it but advagadros number is a product of the fact that: 1) every atom of an element has a weight (or at least an average) and 2) atoms interact in integer quantities. If you put those two together there is a common multiplier for a stochiometric equation that is related to the mass of a given atom in that stoichiometry. That multiplier is the the mole.

        edit: I guess that’s kind of a factor, but it’s really more of an derived unit. If there was a new element discovered a mole would still describe it’s stoichiometry, and IIRC that’s how a lot of the periodic table was filled out my Mendelov.

        • Turun@feddit.deEnglish
          2·
          11 months ago

          No it’s simply a big number. We are stuck with it due to history, but at its core it’s a dimensionless quantity. You can do every single calculation without moles. Sure, yo may have to adjust some constants (boltzman constant vs gas constant for example), but it’s not a unit in the same sense a meter or a second is.

  • TAYRN@lemmy.worldEnglish
    282·
    11 months ago

    Meanwhile, Brits will look you dead in the eye and say “I weigh 11 stone and 5 pounds”