Difference between revisions of "Balances"

[[Category:Weighing]]{{Knoppen}}

'''Balance''' is a measuring instrument for determining the weight or mass of an object. These are used in many industrial and  commercial applications, and products from feathers to loaded  tractor-trailers are sold by weight. Specialized medical scales and  bathroom scales are used to measure the body weight of human beings.

The balance was the first mass measuring instrument invented.In its traditional form, it consists of a pivoted horizontal lever of equal length arms, called the beam, with a weighing pan, also called scale, scalepan, or bason , suspended from each arm . 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 slider mass is moved along a  graduated scale. The slider position gives a fine correction to the mass  value. Although a balance technically compares weights, not masses, the  weight of an object is proportional to its mass, and the standard weights used with balances are usually labeled in mass units.