Re: Electronic balances was A weighty subject

[brian whatcott <inet@INTELLISYS.NET>]

At 11:37 10/14/99 -0400, you wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: brian whatcott <inet@INTELLISYS.NET>
> To: <PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 1999 11:30 PM
> Subject: Re: Electronic balances was A weighty subject
>
>
> > Michael Edmiston actually described a species of self calibrating
> > electronic scale which measures force as always, but offers a better
> > proxy for mass than the usual electronic scale by initializing to zero,
> > and then applying a known weight which it will then autocalibrate to
> > indicate as a particular mass.
> > . . .
> > brian whatcott <inet@intellisys.net>
>
> I built my digital readout bathroom scale from a Heathkit (eons ago).  It
> stresses a cantilevered metal beam and senses the strain with a bonded
> strain gauge.  A  labeled calibration weight is included; there are two
> potentiometer controls: zero and calibrate.
>
> If I took (or built) this device on the moon and followed their
> instructions to the letter, my moon weight would read the same as my earth
> weight (its reads in lbs, with a read-out resolution of 0.1 lb)
>
> Bob
>
> Bob Sciamanda

I am fairly sure that I can agree *completely* with Bob on his
old Heathkit. The range of adjustment offered was so large that it would
span the requisite 6:1 range of **force** involved.

My parting word: you shouldn't believe everything you read on scales as
unit markings!   :-)


brian whatcott <inet@intellisys.net>
Altus OK