How does a drinking straw balance work?
Popular Physics
2011-07-04 v2
Abstract
We examine working mechanism of a drinking straw balance. Unlike the usual horizontal level balances which rely on the pivotal rotation, a drinking straw balance shows rolling motion. Because of this rolling and relative position between the pin and the center line of a straw, a new equilibrium state is possible after placement of a test mass. Relative errors between the measured values by a drinking straw balance and an electronic scale are order of 22%. Minimum value of a measurable mass by a straw balance is order of 10 mg.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1104.1494,
title = {How does a drinking straw balance work?},
author = {Hyunbyuk Kim and Jungwoo Park},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1104.1494},
year = {2011}
}
Comments
10 pages, 1 table, 4 figures; typos corrected, one reference added