Talk:Volume

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Contents 1 Capacity 2 Stere 3 Ambiguity in defining volume function 4 What is the difference between m3/h and nm3/h? 5 4-d space 6 A bike...? 7 Gases 8 Conversion Table 9 Measuring space

[edit] Capacity

I was always taught that volume is the amount of space an object takes up (how much liquid you would have if you melted a cup) and capacity is the amount of liquid an object can hold (how much drink a cup can hold).

Brianjd 06:10, 2004 Nov 13 (UTC)

What sense does it make to say a solid block of steel has a capacity of 20 litres? I do not know what any standards body has said on this yet, but it seems capacity should be for containers - the container itself occupying much LESS volume of space --JimWae 20:20, 2004 Dec 14 (UTC)

If it is a solid block, it has a capacity of zero. Make it a sheet enclosing something, as the passenger compartment in an automobile, or its trunk, and you can measure that capacity in volume units such as liters or cubic feet. The total space that would enclose both the container and its contents (the overall volume) is irrelevant to capacity. Gene Nygaard 21:32, 14 Dec 2004 (UTC)

So we are agreeing - but since the volume of a container can be taken to mean its capacity OR its water displacement, it would be clearer NOT to use volume & capacity as synonyms, but reserve capacity for how much containers can hold, and volume for displacement. --JimWae 21:40, 2004 Dec 14 (UTC)

[edit] Stere

The symbol for the stere, the unit of volume for firewood, shall be “st” and not “s”, which had been previously assigned to it by the CIPM. (page 50 of SI brochure)--JimWae 20:28, 2004 Dec 14 (UTC)

The change occurred in 1948 (ninth CGPM). Urhixidur 13:56, 2005 May 26 (UTC)

[edit] Ambiguity in defining volume function

In mathematics, there is presently some ambiguity in defining the volume function. I'm not qualified to write about this, but I am qualified to ask about it, so I'll ask anyone with a background in absolute geometry to lend a hand. (This ambiguity has significant impact on set theory.)

[edit] What is the difference between m3/h and nm3/h?

We find air volume and liquid volume explained in m3/h and nm3/h. What is the difference between them?

Context would help in answering your question. The units of flow (not volume) cubic metre per hour (m³/h) and cubic nanometre per hour (nm³/h) differ by a whopping factor of 10²⁷. If the second unit is actually cubic nautical miles per hour (NM³/h), the difference is a factor of 6×10⁹ (6,352,182,208). Urhixidur 13:45, 2005 May 26 (UTC)

Nm3 is Normal meter cube : measured at 0 degree centigrade temperature and 1 atmosphere pressure. Since gas volume depends on both, you need to define the base for volume measurement, hence the N in nm3

[edit] 4-d space

What is the volume of a 4-dimensional space, and can that be included?

I think that would be something completely different, as different as comparing length and area.

There's no common name for m⁴, ft⁴ etc. and that doesn't really matter in the real world since the idea's uncomprehensible. Maybe hypervolume. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 74.72.95.145 (talk • contribs) 03:22, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Mathematically there is no difficulty in defining the 4-D analogy to 3-D volume. I believe that to be outside the scope of this article, though. --Swift 05:27, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] A bike...?

"Volume is how much space a thing has. For example: A bike takes up some volume. Everthing in the world has volume." Don't get me wrong, I'm all for simple introductions... but don't you think that's a little bit informal, and not very informative? 58.169.11.44 02:52, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Gases

This article seems to be only about volumes of solids and liquids. What about gases? Biscuittin 10:13, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

You can place objects in/through gases. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.224.229.97 (talk) 20:06, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Conversion Table

Needs a conversion table like the one in this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressure. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.117.184.47 (talk) 15:08, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Measuring space

What units are used to measure volume of space? --Mrg3105 02:51, 11 November 2007 (UTC) cm-cubed (or) cm-squred