Weighing scale facts for kids
A Beam balance (or Beam scale) is a device to measure weight or mass. These are also known as mass scales, weight scales, mass balances, weight balances, or simply scales, balances, or balance scales.
The traditional scale consists of two plates or bowls suspended at equal distances from a fulcrum. One plate holds an object of unknown mass (or weight), while known masses are added to the other plate until static equilibrium is achieved and the plates level off, which happens when the masses on the two plates are equal. The perfect scale rests at neutral. A spring scale will make use of a spring of known stiffness to determine mass (or weight). Suspending a certain mass will extend the spring by a certain amount depending on the spring's stiffness (or spring constant). The heavier the object, the more the spring stretches, as described in Hooke's law. Other types of scales making use of different physical principles also exist.
Some scales can be calibrated to read in units of force (weight) such as newtons instead of units of mass such as kilograms. Scales and balances are widely used in commerce, as many products are sold and packaged by mass.
Balance scales
History
The balance scale is such a simple device that its usage likely far predates the evidence. What has allowed archaeologists to link artifacts to weighing scales are the stones for determining absolute mass. The balance scale itself was probably used to determine relative mass long before absolute mass.
The oldest evidence for the existence of weighing scales dates to c. 2400–1800 BC in the Indus River valley. Prior to that, no banking was performed due to lack of scales. Uniform, polished stone cubes discovered in early settlements were probably used as mass-setting stones in balance scales. Although the cubes bear no markings, their masses are multiples of a common denominator. The cubes are made of many different kinds of stones with varying densities. Clearly their mass, not their size or other characteristics, was a factor in sculpting these cubes.
In Egypt, scales can be traced to around 1878 BC, but their usage probably extends much earlier. Carved stones bearing marks denoting mass and the Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol for gold have been discovered, which suggests that Egyptian merchants had been using an established system of mass measurement to catalog gold shipments or gold mine yields. Although no actual scales from this era have survived, many sets of weighing stones as well as murals depicting the use of balance scales suggest widespread usage. In China, the earliest weighing balance excavated was from a tomb of the State of Chu of the Chinese Warring States Period dating back to the 3rd to 4th century BC in Mount Zuojiagong near Changsha, Hunan. The balance was made of wood and used bronze masses.
Variations on the balance scale, including devices like the cheap and inaccurate bismar (unequal-armed scales), began to see common usage by c. 400 B.C. by many small merchants and their customers. A plethora of scale varieties each boasting advantages and improvements over one another appear throughout recorded history, with such great inventors as Leonardo da Vinci lending a personal hand in their development.
Even with all the advances in weighing scale design and development, all scales until the seventeenth century AD were variations on the balance scale. The standardization of the weights used – and ensuring traders used the correct weights – was a considerable preoccupation of governments throughout this time.
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Weighing dishes from the island of Thera, Minoan civilization, 2000–1500 BC
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Assyrian lion weights (8th century BC) in the British Museum
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Emperor Jahangir (reigned 1605–1627) weighing his son Shah Jahan on a weighing scale by artist Manohar (AD 1615, Mughal dynasty, India).
The original form of a balance consisted of a beam with a fulcrum at its center. For highest accuracy, the fulcrum would consist of a sharp V-shaped pivot seated in a shallower V-shaped bearing. To determine the mass of the object, a combination of reference masses was hung on one end of the beam while the object of unknown mass was hung on the other end (see balance and steelyard balance). For high precision work, such as empirical chemistry, the center beam balance is still one of the most accurate technologies available, and is commonly used for calibrating test masses.
Mechanical balances
The balance (also balance scale, beam balance and laboratory balance) was the first mass measuring instrument invented. In its traditional form, it consists of a pivoted horizontal lever with arms of equal length – the beam – and a weighing pan suspended from each arm (hence the plural name "scales" for a weighing instrument). The unknown mass is placed in one pan and standard masses are added to the other pan until the beam is as close to equilibrium as possible. In precision balances, a more accurate determination of the mass is given by the position of a sliding mass moved along a graduated scale. Technically, a balance compares weight rather than mass, but, in a given gravitational field (such as Earth's gravity), the weight of an object is proportional to its mass, so the standard masses used with balances are usually labeled in units of mass (e.g. g or kg).
Unlike spring-based scales, balances are used for the precision measurement of mass as their accuracy is not affected by variations in the local gravitational field. (On Earth, for example, these can amount to ±0.5% between locations.) A change in the strength of the gravitational field caused by moving the balance does not change the measured mass, because the moments of force on either side of the beam are affected equally. A balance will render an accurate measurement of mass at any location experiencing a constant gravity or acceleration.
Very precise measurements are achieved by ensuring that the balance's fulcrum is essentially friction-free (a knife edge is the traditional solution), by attaching a pointer to the beam which amplifies any deviation from a balance position; and finally by using the lever principle, which allows fractional masses to be applied by movement of a small mass along the measuring arm of the beam, as described above. For greatest accuracy, there needs to be an allowance for the buoyancy in air, whose effect depends on the densities of the masses involved.
To reduce the need for large reference masses, an off-center beam can be used. A balance with an off-center beam can be almost as accurate as a scale with a center beam, but the off-center beam requires special reference masses and cannot be intrinsically checked for accuracy by simply swapping the contents of the pans as a center-beam balance can. To reduce the need for small graduated reference masses, a sliding weight called a poise can be installed so that it can be positioned along a calibrated scale. A poise adds further intricacies to the calibration procedure, since the exact mass of the poise must be adjusted to the exact lever ratio of the beam.
For greater convenience in placing large and awkward loads, a platform can be floated on a cantilever beam system which brings the proportional force to a noseiron bearing; this pulls on a stilyard rod to transmit the reduced force to a conveniently sized beam.
One still sees this design in portable beam balances of 500 kg capacity which are commonly used in harsh environments without electricity, as well as in the lighter duty mechanical bathroom scale (which actually uses a spring scale, internally). The additional pivots and bearings all reduce the accuracy and complicate calibration; the float system must be corrected for corner errors before the span is corrected by adjusting the balance beam and poise.
Roberval balance
In 1669 the Frenchman Gilles Personne de Roberval presented a new kind of balance scale to the French Academy of Sciences. This scale consisted of a pair of vertical columns separated by a pair of equal-length arms and pivoting in the center of each arm from a central vertical column, creating a parallelogram. From the side of each vertical column a peg extended. To the amazement of observers, no matter where Roberval hung two equal weight along the peg, the scale still balanced. In this sense, the scale was revolutionary: it evolved into the more-commonly encountered form consisting of two pans placed on vertical column located above the fulcrum and the parallelogram below them. The advantage of the Roberval design is that no matter where equal weights are placed in the pans, the scale will still balance.
Further developments have included a "gear balance" in which the parallelogram is replaced by any odd number of interlocking gears greater than one, with alternating gears of the same size and with the central gear fixed to a stand and the outside gears fixed to pans, as well as the "sprocket gear balance" consisting of a bicycle-type chain looped around an odd number of sprockets with the central one fixed and the outermost two free to pivot and attached to a pan.
Because it has more moving joints which add friction, the Roberval balance is consistently less accurate than the traditional beam balance, but for many purposes this is compensated for by its usability.
Electronic devices
Microbalance
A microbalance, ultramicrobalance, or nanobalance are instruments capable of making precise measurements of mass of objects of relatively small mass: of the order of a million parts of a gram and below.
Analytical balance
An analytical balance is a class of balance designed to measure small mass in the sub-milligram range. The measuring pan of an analytical balance (0.1 mg or better) is inside a transparent enclosure with doors so that dust does not collect and so any air currents in the room do not affect the balance's operation. This enclosure is often called a draft shield. The use of a mechanically vented balance safety enclosure, which has uniquely designed acrylic airfoils, allows a smooth turbulence-free airflow that prevents balance fluctuation and the measure of mass down to 1 μg without fluctuations or loss of product. Also, the sample must be at room temperature to prevent natural convection from forming air currents inside the enclosure from causing an error in reading. Single-pan mechanical substitution balance maintains consistent response throughout the useful capacity is achieved by maintaining a constant load on the balance beam, thus the fulcrum, by subtracting mass on the same side of the beam to which the sample is added.
Electronic analytical scales measure the force needed to counter the mass being measured rather than using actual masses. As such they must have calibration adjustments made to compensate for gravitational differences. They use an electromagnet to generate a force to counter the sample being measured and outputs the result by measuring the force needed to achieve balance. Such measurement device is called electromagnetic force restoration sensor.
Pendulum balance scales
Pendulum type scales do not use springs. This design uses pendulums and operates as a balance and is unaffected by differences in gravity. An example of application of this design are scales made by the Toledo Scale Company.
Programmable scales
A programmable scale is has a programmable logic controller in it, allowing it to be programmed for various applications such as batching, labeling, filling, truck scales and more.
Symbolism
The scales (specifically, a two-pan, beam balance) are one of the traditional symbols of justice, as wielded by statues of Lady Justice. This corresponds to the use in metaphor of matters being "held in the balance". It has its origins in ancient Egypt.
Scales are also the symbol for the astrological sign Libra.
Scales (specifically, a two-pan, beam balance in a state of equal balance) are the traditional symbol of Pyrrhonism indicating the equal balance of arguments used in inducing epoche.
Force-measuring (weight) scales
History
Although records dating to the 1700s refer to spring scales for measuring mass, the earliest design for such a device dates to 1770 and credits Richard Salter, an early scale-maker. Spring scales came into wide usage in the United Kingdom after 1840 when R. W. Winfield developed the candlestick scale for weighing letters and packages, required after the introduction of the Uniform Penny Post. Postal workers could work more quickly with spring scales than balance scales, because they could be read instantaneously and did not have to be carefully balanced with each measurement.
By the 1940s, various electronic devices were being attached to these designs to make readings more accurate. Load cells – transducers that convert force to an electrical signal – have their beginnings as early as the late nineteenth century, but it was not until the late twentieth century that their widespread usage became economically and technologically viable.
Mechanical scales
A mechanical scale or balance is used to describe a weighing device that is used to measure the mass, force exertion, tension and resistance of an object without the need of a power supply. Types of mechanical scale include spring scales, hanging scales, triple beam balances and force gauges.
Spring scales
A spring scale measures mass by reporting the distance that a spring deflects under a load. This contrasts to a balance, which compares the torque on the arm due to a sample weight to the torque on the arm due to a standard reference mass using a horizontal lever. Spring scales measure force, which is the tension force of constraint acting on an object, opposing the local force of gravity. They are usually calibrated so that measured force translates to mass at earth's gravity. The object to be weighed can be simply hung from the spring or set on a pivot and bearing platform.
In a spring scale, the spring either stretches (as in a hanging scale in the produce department of a grocery store) or compresses (as in a simple bathroom scale). By Hooke's law, every spring has a proportionality constant that relates how hard it is pulled to how far it stretches. Weighing scales use a spring with a known spring constant (see Hooke's law) and measure the displacement of the spring by any variety of mechanisms to produce an estimate of the gravitational force applied by the object. Rack and pinion mechanisms are often used to convert the linear spring motion to a dial reading.
Spring scales have two sources of error that balances do not: the measured mass varies with the strength of the local gravitational force (by as much as 0.5% at different locations on Earth), and the elasticity of the measurement spring can vary slightly with temperature. With proper manufacturing and setup, however, spring scales can be rated as legal for commerce. To remove the temperature error, a commerce-legal spring scale must either have temperature-compensated springs or be used at a fairly constant temperature. To eliminate the effect of gravity variations, a commerce-legal spring scale must be calibrated where it is used.
Hydraulic or pneumatic scale
It is also common in high-capacity applications such as crane scales to use hydraulic force to sense mass. The test force is applied to a piston or diaphragm and transmitted through hydraulic lines to a dial indicator based on a Bourdon tube or electronic sensor.
Domestic Weighing Scale
Electronic digital scales display weight as a number, usually on a liquid crystal display (LCD). They are versatile because they may perform calculations on the measurement and transmit it to other digital devices. In a digital scale, the force of the weight causes a spring to deform, and the amount of deformation is measured by one or more transducers called strain gauges. A strain gauge is a conductor whose electrical resistance changes when its length changes. Strain gauges have limited capacity and larger digital scales may use a hydraulic transducer called a load cell instead. A voltage is applied to the device, and the weight causes the current through it to change. The current is converted to a digital number by an analog-to-digital converter, translated by digital logic to the correct units, and displayed on the display. Usually the device is run by a microprocessor chip.
Digital bathroom scale
A digital bathroom scale is a scale on the floor which a person stands on. The weight is shown on an LED or LCD display. The digital electronics may do more than just display weight, it may calculate body fat, BMI, lean mass, muscle mass, and water ratio. Some modern bathroom scales are wirelessly or cellularly connected and have features like smartphone integration, cloud storage, and fitness tracking. They are usually powered by a button cell, or battery of AA or AAA size. Self-weighing is an effective strategy for weight loss, and over time, adults who engaged in frequent self-weighing found it to be more positive, more helpful, and less frustrating.
Digital kitchen scale
Digital kitchen scales are used for weighing food in a kitchen during cooking. These are usually light-weight and compact.
Strain gauge scale
In electronic versions of spring scales, the deflection of a beam supporting the unknown mass is measured using a strain gauge, which is a length-sensitive electrical resistance. The capacity of such devices is only limited by the resistance of the beam to deflection. The results from several supporting locations may be added electronically, so this technique is suitable for determining the mass of very heavy objects, such as trucks and rail cars, and is used in a modern weighbridge.
Supermarket and other retail scale
These scales are used in the modern bakery, grocery, delicatessen, seafood, meat, produce and other perishable goods departments. Supermarket scales can print labels and receipts, mark mass and count, unit price, total price and in some cases tare. Some modern supermarket scales print an RFID tag that can be used to track the item for tampering or returns. In most cases, these types of scales have a sealed calibration so that the reading on the display is correct and cannot be tampered with. In the US, the scales are certified by the National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP), in South Africa by the South African Bureau of Standards and in the UK by the International Organization of Legal Metrology.
Images for kids
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Digital kitchen scale, a strain gauge scale
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Scales used for trade purposes in the state of Florida, as this scale at the checkout in a cafeteria, are inspected for accuracy by the FDACS's Bureau of Weights and Measures.
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Finely crafted Pan Balance or scales with boxed set of standardized gram weights.
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Two 10-decagram masses
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Masses of 50, 20, 1, 2, 5 and 10 grams
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Aluminum, mass-produced balance scale (steelyard balance) sold and used throughout China: the scale can be inverted and held by the larger ring beneath the user's right hand to produce greater leverage for heavier loads (Hainan Province, China)
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A Roberval balance. The pivots of the parallelogram understructure makes it insensitive to load positioning away from center, so improves its accuracy, and ease of use.
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Mettler digital analytical balance with 0.1 mg readability
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The prototype of an elastic arm scale measuring a weight.
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Weighing dishes from the island of Thera, Minoan civilization, 2000–1500 BC
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Assyrian lion weights (8th century BC) in the British Museum
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Emperor Jahangir (reigned 1605–1627) weighing his son Shah Jahan on a weighing scale by artist Manohar (AD 1615, Mughal dynasty, India).
See also
In Spanish: Balanza para niños
