What does density mean?

cydonia325

There are several definitions, but the one used most frequently in the Sciences is the amount of mass contained in a unit volume. Density = mass/volume. Mass is is the amount of material in the object. The density is the measure of how tightly packed together the material is, within that object. http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/glossary/density_defn.html http://www.thefreedictionary.com/density Jul 13 07, 2:17 AM

MonkeyOnALeash

Example: A cubic inch of Styrofoam weighs less and has less material within it than a cubic inch of lead. Both items take up the same amount of volumetric space in this world but the lead is much heavier thusly more dense. Scientists hypothesize (educated guess without proof) that some stars have such a great density that a teaspoon full of their matter (the material that makes them what they are) weighs more than the entire planet Earth! Density can also mean, among other things, that a person is thickheaded or not capable of understanding something simple. "den·si·ty –noun, plural -ties. 1. the state or quality of being dense; compactness; closely set or crowded condition. 2. stupidity; slow-wittedness; obtuseness. 3. the number of inhabitants, dwellings, or the like, per unit area: The commissioner noted that the population density of certain city blocks had fallen dramatically. 4. Physics. mass per unit volume. 5. Electricity. a. the quantity of electricity per unit of volume at a point in space, or the quantity per unit of area at a point on a surface. b. current density. 6. the degree of opacity of a substance, medium, etc., that transmits light. 7. Photography. the relative degree of opacity of an area of a negative or transparency, often expressed logarithmically. 8. Computers. a measure of the compactness of data stored on an external storage medium, as disk or tape, or displayed on a CRT or other screen. [Origin: 1595–1605; < L dénsitās, equiv. to déns(us) dense + -itās -ity] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/density Jul 13 07, 4:28 AM

richard_n413

Scientifically, density is the amount of matter in a certain volume of a material. Density is measured in grams per cubic centimetre (g/cm^3). Take the following representive diagram: each circle represents a molecule 1g in mass, and the square represents a 1cm^3 cube. Figure 2 is the densest, because it contains 49 circles in the 1cm^3 space (therefore has a density of 49g/cm^3) while Figure 1 only contains 14 circles in the 1cm^3 space (therefore has a density of 14g/cm^3). http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z157/richard_n413/Density.jpg Jul 13 07, 6:28 AM

kaung30

There are many definitions, but it is most frequently used for "physics". Density is basically mass/volume. You might have learnt that "water is denser than oil because oil still appears", or that thing still floats because "that thing is less dense than water". So, go and type "density" in a google page and you will see it is most related to science. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=density&btnG=Google+Search Jul 13 07, 6:29 AM