mass density

Also known as volumetric mass density, volumic mass, density

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.

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

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Show 3 more facts

Commons category: Density
quantity symbol (string): ρ
Stack Exchange tag: physics.stackexchange.com/tags/density

Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~18 min read

Article

20 sections

Contents

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.