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Measuring Devices

1) Physics relies on accurate measurement of properties like time, length, mass, and temperature using tools like meter sticks, Vernier calipers, micrometers, and thermometers. 2) Vernier calipers and micrometers allow for more precise measurements than meter sticks by measuring fractions of units. 3) A Vernier caliper uses an adjustable sliding scale to measure fractions of millimeters. A micrometer uses a threaded spindle and thimble to measure fractions of inches very precisely.

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Shermar Berkley
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70 views2 pages

Measuring Devices

1) Physics relies on accurate measurement of properties like time, length, mass, and temperature using tools like meter sticks, Vernier calipers, micrometers, and thermometers. 2) Vernier calipers and micrometers allow for more precise measurements than meter sticks by measuring fractions of units. 3) A Vernier caliper uses an adjustable sliding scale to measure fractions of millimeters. A micrometer uses a threaded spindle and thimble to measure fractions of inches very precisely.

Uploaded by

Shermar Berkley
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Use graduated measuring devices

Physics is a quantitative science, relying on accurate measurements of fundamental properties such as


time, length, mass and temperature. To ensure measurements of these properties are accurate and precise,
instruments such as meter sticks, Vernier calipers, micrometer calipers, triple-beam balances and
laboratory thermometers are often used. It is important to understand how to properly use these devices.
With any measurement tool, the student should always try to achieve the greatest accuracy the apparatus
will allow.
Measuring devices may include but not limited to:
• verniers,
• feeler gauges
• pressure gauges
• squares
• levels
• micrometers,
• dial indicators
• thermometers
• measuring tapes
• protractors
Measurements undertaken may include but not limited to:
• length /width/depth
• roundness
• squareness
• flatness angle
• angles
• clearances
• measurements that can be read off antilog, digital or other graduated device
• plumb ness

Meter stick
The simplest way to measure length is to use an ordinary meter stick. In the laboratory, our meter sticks
are carefully calibrated in centimeters with a millimeter least count. That is, the millimeter is the smallest
subdivision on the meter stick, which can be seen in Figure 1. This means the millimeter is the unit of the
smallest reading that can be made without estimating in centimetres.
Vernier caliper
A vernier caliper (or vernier), shown in Figure 3, is a common tool used in laboratories and industries to
accurately determine the fraction part of the least count division. The vernier is convenient when
measuring the length of an object, the outer diameter (OD) of a round or cylindrical object, the inner
diameter (ID) of a pipe, and the depth of a hole.

The vernier consists of a main scale engraved on a fixed ruler and an auxiliary scale engraved on a
moveable jaw (see Figure 3). The moveable jaw is free to slide along the length of the fixed ruler. The
main scale is calibrated in centimeters with the smallest division in millimeters. The moveable auxiliary
scale has 10 divisions that cover the same distance as 9 divisions on the main scale. Therefore, the length
of the auxiliary scale is 9 mm. When the vernier is closed and properly zeroed (see Figure 4), the first
mark (zero) on the main scale is aligned with the first mark on the auxiliary scale. The last mark on the
auxiliary scale will then coincide with the 9-mm mark on the main scale.

Micrometer
Reading an inch-system micrometer

The spindle of an inch-system micrometer has 40 threads per inch, so that one turn moves the spindle
axially 0.025 inch (1 ÷ 40 = 0.025), equal to the distance between two graduations on the frame. The 25
graduations on the thimble allow the 0.025 inch to be further divided, so that turning the thimble through
one division moves the spindle axially 0.001 inch (0.025 ÷ 25 = 0.001). To read a micrometer, count the
number of whole divisions that are visible on the scale of the frame, multiply this number by 25 (the
number of thousandths of an inch that each division represents) and add to the product the number of that
division on the thimble which coincides with the axial zero line on the frame. The result will be the
diameter expressed in thousandths of an inch. As the numbers 1, 2, 3, etc., appear below every fourth sub-
division on the frame, indicating hundreds of thousandths, the reading can easily be taken mentally.
Suppose the thimble were screwed out so that graduation 2, and three additional sub-divisions, were
visible (as shown in the image), and that graduation 1 on the thimble coincided with the axial line on the
frame. The reading then would be .2000 +0.075

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