mass density
Sign in to saveDensity (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ρ (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter D (or d) can also be used: \rho = \frac{m}{V}, where ρ is the density, m is the mass, and V is the volume. In some cases (for instance, in the United States oil and gas industry), density is loosely defined as its weight per unit volume, although this is scientifically inaccurate this quantity is more specifically called specific weight.
AI overview
Mass density measures how much mass is packed into a given volume of a substance, calculated by dividing the mass by the volume. It's useful for understanding and comparing materials—for example, why lead feels heavier than wood of the same size, or for practical applications like determining whether something will float or sink in water.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Physical quantity.name
- Density
- Physical quantity.image
- Density column.JPG
- Physical quantity.image_size
- 100px
- Physical quantity.caption
- A test tube holding four non-miscible colored liquids with different densities
- Physical quantity.unit
- kg/m3
- Physical quantity.symbols
- ρ, D, d
- Physical quantity.dimension
- wikidata
- Physical quantity.extensive
- No
- Physical quantity.intensive
- Yes
- Physical quantity.conserved
- No
- Physical quantity.derivations
- \rho = \frac{m}{V}
- Physical quantity.otherunits
- g/cm3
Article
20 sectionsContents
- History
- Density, floating, and sinking
- Volume vs. density; volume of an irregular shape
- Units <span class="anchor" id="Unit"></span>
- Measurement
- Homogeneous materials
- Heterogeneous materials
- Non-compact materials
- Changes of density
- Density of solutions
- List of densities {{anchor|Densities}}
- Various materials
- Others
- Water
- Air
- Molar volumes of liquid and solid phase of elements
- Generalization: volumic quantities
- See also
- References
- External links
{{Infobox physical quantity | bgcolour = | name = Density | image = Density column.JPG | image_size = 100px | caption = A test tube holding four non-miscible colored liquids with different densities | unit = kg/m3 | symbols = ρ, D, d | dimension = wikidata | extensive = No | intensive = Yes | conserved = No | derivations = \rho = \frac{m}{V} |otherunits=g/cm3}} Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ρ (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter D (or d) can also be used: \rho = \frac{m}{V}, where ρ is the density, m is the mass, and V is the volume. In some cases (for instance, in the United States oil and gas industry), density is loosely defined as its weight per unit volume, although this is scientifically inaccurate this quantity is more specifically called specific weight.
For a pure substance, the density is equal to its mass concentration. Different materials usually have different densities, and density may be relevant to buoyancy, purity and packaging. Osmium is the densest known element at standard conditions for temperature and pressure.