THULABHARAM 3
Continuing fromPart 2 

Re- posted after editing and updatinginformation.


Gopalakrishnan dated 7-10-21

13. Whether weighing scale or weighinginstrument?


 Aweighing scale (usually just "scales" in UK and Australian English,"weighing 
machine" in south Asian English or "scale" in USEnglish) is a measuring 
instrument for determining the weight or mass of anobject. 

14 Difference between mass and weight?

 Justto understand weight is attraction towards earth of an object. I have read 
thata man would fly inMoon’s atmosphere because pulling force or compression 
force is very less foran object towards it. A spring scale measures weight by 
the distance a springdeflects under its load.

 Anarm balance compares the torque on the arm due to the sample weight to 
thetorque on the arm due to a standard reference weight using a horizontal 
lever.

 Balances are different from scales, in thata balance measures mass (or more 
specifically gravitational mass), where as a scale measures weight (or 
morespecifically, either the tension or compression force of constraint 
provided bythe scale).

 Thoughstudied in high school, the difference between mass and weight became 
very clear only when studiedin college.

 Aeroplane loaded with luggage and passengers would weigh comparativelyless in 
high altitude while it moves.

 15. How much we can weigh usingbalance/ scale

 Weighingscales are used in many industrial and commercial applications, and 
productsfrom FEATHERS TO LOADED TRACTOR-TRAILERS are weighed.

 Specializedmedical scales and bathroom scales are used to measure the body 
weight of humanbeings. 

Iam not sure why the scale used to weigh our weight standing on it is 
calledBATH ROOM SCALE. Probably in many countries the scale would have it’s 
place inBath rooms. 

16. History of balance

 Thebalance scale is such a simple device that its usage likely far predates 
theevidence. What has allowed archaeologists to link arti- facts to 
weighingscales are the stones for determining absolute weight. The balance 
scale itselfwas probably used to determine RELATIVE WEIGHT LONG BEFORE ABSOLUTE 
WEIGHT. 

Relativeweight means simply which is more weighing. 

 One bottle of Kerosene would weigh less than water in an identical bottle 
which explainsrelative weight. If the water weighed 1 kg, kerosene would weigh 
only 800 gramsper litre.

 Theoldest evidence for the existence of weighing scales dates to c. 2400-1800 
B.C.E. in the INDUSRIVER VALLEY. Uniform, polished stone cubes discovered in 
earlysettlements were probably used as weight-setting stones in balance scales.

 Althoughthe cubes bore no markings, their weights are multiples of a 
commondenominator. The cubes are made of many different kinds of stones with 
varyingdensities. Clearly their weight, not their size or other 
characteristics, was afactor in sculpting these cubes.

In Egypt, scales can be traced to around1878 B.C.E., but their usage probably 
extends much earlier. Carved stones bearing marks denoting weightand the 
Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol for gold have been discovered, whichsuggests that 
Egyptian merchants had been using an established system of weightmeasurement to 
catalogue gold shipments and/or gold mine yields. 

 Althoughno actual scales from this era have survived, many sets of weighing 
stones aswell as murals depicting the use of balance scales suggest widespread 
usage. 

Variationson the balance scale, including devices like the cheap and inaccurate 
bismarbegan to see common usage by c. 400 B.C.E. by many small merchants and 
theircustomers. A plethora of scale varieties each boasting advantages 
andimprovements over one another appear throughout recorded history, with 
suchgreat inventors as Leonardo Da Vinci lending a personal hand in their 
development.

 Evenwith all the advances in weighing scale design and development, all scales 
until the seventeenthcentury C.E. were VARIATIONS ON THE BALANCE SCALE. 
Although recordsdating to the 1600s refer to spring scales for measuring 
weight, the earliestdesign for such a device dates to 1770 and credits Richard 
Salter, an earlyscale-maker.

 Spring scales came into common usage in1840 when R. W. Winfield developed 
thecandlestick scale for use in measuring letters and packages.

 Asmentioned in response by Sri Narayanaswamy, weighing scales earlier 
weresubjected to corrosion. With the use of quality steel spring corrosion and 
elasticproblems are much reduced now.

 The quality of springs one can see inthe springs for holding cell/battery in 
wall clocks, cordless mouse, oxy-meter,BP meter etc.

 Bythe 1940s various electronic devices were being attached to these designs 
tomake readings more accurate. These were not true digital scales as the 
actualmeasuring of weight still relied on springs and balances.

 LOADCELLS, SMALL NODES THAT CONVERT PRESSURE TO A DIGITAL SIGNAL, have 
theirbeginnings as early as the late-nineteenth century, but it was not until 
the late-twentiethcentury that they became accurate enough for widespread usage.

 17. Do spring balance or beam balancecame first in to use?

 Thebalance (beam balance and laboratory balance) was the first mass 
measuringinstrument invented. In its traditional form, it consists of a 
pivotedhorizontal lever of equal length arms, called the beam, with a weighing 
pan,also called scale suspended from each arm. The unknown mass is placed in 
onepan, and standard masses are added to the other pan until the beam is as 
closeto equilibrium as possible. 

Duringthe first year of my BSc one of the experiments were finding out the mass 
of asmall solid item using beam balance. The beam balance was placed on 
theexperiment table in an enclosure. In the centre of the beam the needle with 
markand either side at 1/10 cm distance marks. Weight had to be added in 
milligramsand arm set to Zero..... Weights were added n either side for this 
experiment.In 1970’s this type of balance was common with gold merchants. 

18. Technically does the arm balancemeasures mass or weight?

 Althougha balance technically compares weights, not masses, the weight of an 
object isproportional to its mass, and the standard weights used with balances 
are usually labelled inmass units.

 Balancesare used for precision mass measurement, because unlike spring scales 
theiraccuracy is not affected by differences in the local gravity, which can 
vary byalmost 0.5% at different locations on Earth.

 Achange in the strength of the gravitational field caused by moving the 
balancewill not change the measured mass, because the moments of force on 
either sideof the balance beam are affected equally. IN FACT, A BALANCE WILL 
MEASURE THECORRECT MASS EVEN ON OTHER PLANETS OR MOONS, or any location that 
experiences a constant gravity oracceleration.

 Veryprecise measurements are achieved by ensuring that the balance's fulcrum 
isessentially friction-free (a knife edge is the traditional solution), 
byattaching a pointer to the beam which amplifies any deviation from a 
balanceposition; and finally by using the lever principle, which allows 
fractionalmasses to be applied by movement of a small mass along the measuring 
arm of thebeam, as described above. For greatest accuracy, there needs to be an 
allowancefor the buoyancy in air, whose effect depends on the densities of the 
massesinvolved.

 19 Original balance

 Theoriginal form of a balance consisted of a beam with a fulcrum at its 
centre. Todetermine the mass of the object, a combination of reference masses 
was hung onone end of the beam while the object of unknown mass was hung on the 
other end.

 20. off centre balance

 Toreduce the need for large reference masses, an off-centre beam can be used. 
Abalance with an off-centre beam can be almost as accurate as a scale with 
acentre beam, but the off-centre beam requires special reference masses 
forcalibration.

 InKerala we had such measuring equipment called KAZHANCHI KKOL which was a 
conical road withincreasing weight.

 Theitem to be measured was suspended at smaller end and strong movable holder 
ismoved towards the expanding conical side, where the road is horizontal, the 
pre-markedweight is read as the weight of the item. This was more used to weigh 
not veryheavy item. If I recollect smaller Kazhanchikkol was used to weigh gold 
silverand medicines.

 I will continue in next posting

 

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