torsion balance

torsion balance instrument used to measure small forces. It is based on the principle that a wire or thread resists twisting with a force that is proportional to the stress. The torsion balance consists essentially of a wire or thread attached at one end and arranged in such a way that a force applied at the other, or free, end tends to twist it out of shape. The force is measured by the extent to which the wire or thread is so twisted. Torsion balances are used to measure small electric, magnetic, and gravitational forces. One type is used to measure small weights. The invention of the torsion balance is commonly credited to the English geologist John Michell, who made his instrument c.1750, and to the French physicist Charles A. de Coulomb, who independently devised such a balance c.1777.

torsion balance A weighing instrument in which the required weight of a sample is set by rotating a lever to move a needle to the appropriate position on a graduated scale, and then the sample is added to the weighing pan, a little at a time, until it counterbalances the pre-set weight precisely and the needle is brought back to the ‘zero’ position. This is a useful and rapid technique when large numbers of routine weighings need to be performed in the range of 0.01–5.0 g.