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A weighing scale is a measuring instrument for determining the weight or mass of an object. A spring scale measures weight by the distance a spring deflects under its load. A balance compares the torque on the arm due to the sample weight to the torque on the arm due to a standard reference weight using a horizontal lever. Balances are different from scales, in that a balance measures mass (or more specifically gravitational mass), where as a scale measures weight (or more specifically, either the tension or compression force of constraint provided by the scale. The simplest and oldest weighing mechanism is the equal-arm balance. It has an equal-arm balance which is a bar with two pans hanging from each end and a support at the center of the bar. The bar balances on this center support. To use an equal-arm balance, an object of unknown weight is placed in one of the pans, and objects of known weight are added to the other pan until the bar holding he pans is balanced; then the weight of the unknown load is the same as the known weight in the other pan. A spring scale has a platform that is linked to a spring. The spring either extends or squeezes together to balance the load on the platform. A needle indicates the weight of the load. Many bathroom scales are spring scales. In your job, you will come across electronic scales. They are modern versions of scales and are much faster and more accurate than the mechanical scales. Electronic scales can also be linked to computer systems.
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Balance scales allow to directly compare gravitational mass within a gravitational field. Such devices have been in use since at least the Middle Bronze Age (shown is a balance for weighing tobacco dating to the mid-19th century).
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Balancing scale
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