Damn! Just bought a 3 beam balance

[Ross Chambers]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12276822

 

[boswald]

They are mistaken. We are simply entering a period of weak gravity.

 

[Mike Wilde]

Don't slag the humble triple beam.
That and a simple pan balance good to 50g will do almost all the DIY chem mixing you are likely to need, if you don't mix more than 4L of something at a time

They are affordable, and durable.
I tare mine when I use a Dixie cup on the pan with a small length of wire that hangs from the end of the beam.
I have a plastic container filled with the right number of screws that hangs there when I want to measure over 610g, up to 1110g.

I appreciate the concern in the BBC story, but for my purposes if I am consistent to 1% between subsequent batches I think I am doing just fine.
The thing came from an antique shop in Brooklyn over the *bay when it was a person to person affair about 7 long years ago. Oh, I do miss those days.

 

[dpurdy]

That kilo of platinum would be getting smaller and smaller if I had the lock and key.

 

[JOSarff]

Well, if their just going to chuck it . . . .

 

[Ross Chambers]

Don't slag the humble triple beam.

Just joking, I find it of enormous value ever since I was bequeathed a heap of dry chemistry. Before that I was using an electronic scale which lasted a few months. Perhaps it's not a good idea to buy lab equipment from transient merchants in the forecourts of shopping malls. It seems that the triple beam will be indestructable and not fail me at a critical time. It just took a long time to find one.

On another note: I do wonder how the French feel about one of their national treasures, the platinum standard kilo specimen being called into doubt?

 

[Mick Fagan]

I have a triple beam as well, actually it's a quad beam and I'm sure if you look at yours closely you'll see a fourth beam for the sliding weight at the rear.

Had mine for about 25 years, it's not slower than electronic scales. For my work I required some very accurate electronic scales, which I purchased about 15 years ago. Beauty, I thought, never need to fiddle with the triple beam scales again.

I used the electronic scales about four, maybe five times, then gave up on them. Once or twice I looked up a note on a possible adjustment of a chemical amount, by the time I found the note and worked out what I was going to do, the scales had switched off.

Then there is the not quite flat battery syndrome, talk about frustration!

Mick.

 

[Diapositivo]

The only thing that will change are the operating instructions for German and Swiss chemical products.

"In order to obtain 1 litre of solution, just mix 125,0000000000000001 grams of powder A, mix until complete dissolution, than add 250,0000000000000001 grams of power B. Then add water until 1 litre". :confused:

Fabrizio