Today is National Get on the Scales Day, so here are ten things you might not know about scales.
The word “scale” comes from skal, scala and schaal, meaning “bowl” or “drinking cup”.
Scales were used in ancient Egypt and Ancient Rome. The oldest scale ever found dates from about 2000 BC and was found in Indo River Valley, in Asia.
They were back then used for commercial transactions. Carved stones bearing marks denoting mass and the Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol for Gold have been discovered in Egypt, suggesting that there was an established measurement system.
The traditional scale consists of two plates or bowls suspended at equal distances from a fulcrum. One plate holds the item to be weighed while objects of known mass or weight are added to the other plate until mechanical equilibrium is achieved and the plates level off.
The self indicating scale didn’t need weights. Rather, the scale itself showed the measurement. Leonardo da Vinci is credited with inventing the self-indicting scale in the 15th century.
Richard Salter invented the spring scale in 1770. By 1840, spring scales were a common household item.
Traditional scales are a symbol of Justice, as they are wielded by statues of Lady Justice.
Scales are also the symbol for the astrological sign Libra, the only zodiac sign represented by an inanimate object.
The heaviest object ever weighed was the Revolving Service Structure (RSS) of launch pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mass of the RSS was about 5.34 million pounds (about 2200 metric tonnes).
The accuracy of eight measurements can be affected by many things, including gravity (which varies depending on the distance to the centre of the Earth, which can change with the altitude and latitude of the place you’re in. Scales should be calibrated under the geographic zone where they’re going to be used), temperature (load cells are often made from metal which can expand or contract when the temperature changes), air currents (even an air conditioner or a fan in a lab can have an effect), or vibration.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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