How Do Astronauts Weigh Themselves in Space?

Public domain image by geralt via Pixabay

Some background info first. Mass and weight are two entirely different things with very specific meanings in physics, (the branch of science corned with forces, waves and motion.) Both mass (as in “massive”, not the thing you go to on Sundays) is the amount of “stuff” in an object whereas weight is a force. Mass is the same no matter where an object is located in the Universe, whereas weight is a force due to…