beam balance

Simple weighing instrument

A beam balance is a weighing device with a horizontal bar pivoting on a central fulcrum, with pans suspended from each end.

Objects are weighed by placing them in one pan and adding known weights to the other until the beam levels.

The design dates to antiquity and remains common in science classrooms: Students used a beam balance to measure the mass of the sample.

Related
  • scaleMeasure of relative size
  • weightMeasure of heaviness
  • fulcrumLever's balance point
  • panShallow cooking vessel
  • brassCopper-zinc metal mixture

measurement · equilibrium · pivot · counterweight · laboratory · grams · ounces · calibration · lever · weigh in · justice · Lady Justice · apothecary · precision · tare · mass · merchant · gold

Categories
Opposites
measurement mechanism

beam balancespring scale

Coil-based weight measurer

digital scale · spring balance · smart scale

Family

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Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G