Posted by Joel on October 13, 2002 at 16:02:13:
In Reply to: Re: Making sure I haven't totally gone insane posted by Joel on October 13, 2002 at 15:54:35:
: : I'm trying to find the price of elemental selenium per gram for a chem project and all i can find is the price per pound ($300 per pound)
: : Now, I know how to convert it from pounds to grams:
: : 1lb = 373.24800000000004 grams = 373.248 g
: : It's from here on that I think I'm making stuff up:
: : in order to get the cost for 1 gram:
: : $300 / 373.248g = $0.80 per gram
: That is correct, provided you are using the right conversion factor. 373.248 converts grams to TROY pounds. There are 12 TROY ounces to a TROY pound. The only thing I know of that is usually measured in TROY ounces is gold. I don't know about selenium -- is it also measured in TROY units?
: Otherwise, maybe you should use the conversion ratio for avoirdupois pounds: 453.592 grams/lb.
: $300/453.592 = 66 cents per gram.
:
: : Is that what I'm supposed to do? Or do i reverse it to get $1.24 per gram?
Was that just a theoretical example, or are you really buying selenium? You can get it from Ceramic Supply in New Jersey 1-800-723-7264 for $28.35 per pound (also available in 1/4 pound bags for $12.60 and 1/2 pounders for $18.90).
Those are REAL pounds (avoirdupois), not troy. :)