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The Measuring Instruments - Coggle Diagram
The Measuring Instruments
We refer to the action of measuring, that is, to determine in a experimental way the value of a physical quantity using the appropriate instruments and devices.
Types of measuring instruments
Length measuring instruments
In Antiquity, the human being used tools to identify the dimensions of objects and places. At first they used their own body for that purpose, for example: the step, the span, the brace, the inch, the foot, among others.
Over time other instruments were used, such as the ruler, the tape measure (or flexometer).
Currently there are more accurate measuring instruments. One very used is the nonio (also known as caliper), which is used mainly to measure the outside diameter. the interior and the depth of the objects, allows to take measurements with greater precision than other conventional measuring instruments
Mass Measurement Instruments
To measure the mass of the objects the balance are used. A balance is a first-class lever whose arms are equal and at its ends two plates are held: in one of them the object to be measured is placed and in the other a reference object to compare it (the weight).
The balance is already represented in various Egyptian papyri and engravings dating from 2000 BC. and its form and operation has remained practically un changed, at least for common or commercial use.
Obviously, at present there are other instruments to measure mass, such as analytical balances, electronic and oth ers, whose accuracy is much greater than the common scale. However, for the scope of this course, with the knowledge of the use of the Roman scale or arms and the electronic scale is more than enough.
Instruments for measuring time
We can consider that, since antiquity, the human being has used different means to measure time, such as the shadow cast by the sun, candles, the hourglass, among others.
Subsequently, more precise and everyday instruments were designed, such as the mechanical clock, the quartz clock, the digital chronometer and the atomic clock, which is considered the most accurate at present.
The first atomic clock was built in 1949 at the National Standards Office (NBS). It feed its counter using the atomic resonance frequencies. It is such an accurate device to measure time, which only allows an error of 1 second every 30 thousand years.
