head weight

[hobsonbear]

how do you weigh your head, is this possible?

h

[Dark Angel]

yes, with a weighing scale.

[BillyNoMates]

After you have removed it of course.

[IndieSinger]

You could weight it by displacement, but you'll have to wait for one of those science-types to come along and tell you how. I think it involves sticking your head in a bucket full of water and seeing how much water is lost over the sides (how much is displaced). But it's about 7 years since I did any science!

[smudge]

Well you hire a Guillotine...................

[THECORBYLOON]

One site says the average density of the human head is 1050kg per cubic metre which is 1.05 times as dense as water. So, following the method suggested by IndieSinger, get a bucket, fill it to the top wi water and put ithe bucket in a basin. Stick your head in the bucket and the displaced water will be collected in the basin.

The voulme of the head will be the volume of water collected in the basin. Weigh the water in the basin, multiply by 1.05 and that is the weight of your head!!!!!!

[landie]

If you stick your head in a bucket of water and measure the displacement you will only be measuring the volume. The head would need to be detached to give the buoyancy required to asses the weight.

[Marsh]

This might work.  You'd need a board big enough to lie on and a pivot for it, like a broad see-saw, 2 pairs of kitchen scales, a spirit level, some Bluetack, a friend to make measurements and some luck.  Under each arm of the seesaw put one of the scales , equidistant from the pivot  Prop the scales up so that they both show the same reading when the see-saw is level.  Record the reading.  Measure and record the horizontal distance from the scales to the pivot (S). That's the equipment sorted.
Fix the Bluetack on the side of your head, halfway back and level with your eyes.  With luck, that marks the centre of gravity of your skull when viewed from the side.    Lie down on the board on your back and move up and down along the board until the board is level again.  Get your friend to measure the horizontal distance from the Bluetack to the pivot (X).  Bring your head up and forward and have him measure the horizontal distance to the pivot (Y).  Bringing your head towards the pivot will have caused that side of the seesaw to rise and the readings of the scales will have changed.  They should still both saythe same.  Record the new reading and work out the difference (D).   Get off the board and smile at the park-keeper.  Now for the maths.
Let the weight of your head be W, in whatever units your scales measure.  The change in moment about the pivot as recorded by the scales = 2DS.  The change in moment caused by bringing your head forward = W(X-Y).
So the weight of your head W = 2DS/(X-Y), assuming that your Bluetack is correctly placed. 
I hope.

[rojash]

marsh, that's amazing, but I think smudges guillotine would be easier.

[eggcup5]

I was once asked "How do you lose a stone of ugly fat" by my brother. The answer was, "Chop your head off" does this help!

[Marsh]

Sorry, small correction needed.  When you pick your head up the scales will no longer show the same weight. The near scale will register less weight and the the far one more weight.  It is the amount by which they change that should be the same (D). 

Sorry, I posted in a rush before going out and didn't check it through properly.

[gazzawazza]

Surely you can just lay flat on the floor and relax with your head on a set of scales whilst someone reads the weight off the gauge?

[Marsh]

If you could really relax, yes.  But I think you'd would have to be unconscious before you could truly achieve that.   You could always take your scales with you on Saturday nights, of course. :-)

[hobsonbear]

thank you, i seem to remember something about water displacement being the way to weigh it.  as for the other ideas i think i'll try them with my husband's head first!

h

ps i work in a library which is where some of my questions come from the library users! 

[landie]

If you start out a long time before everyone else, you might be way ahead.

[Sequin]

Many suggestions here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/query/0,,-2444 4,00.html