Analytical Balances

Today we at All Scale Shop want to go into detail about what our analytical balances are and what they are capable of.

Analytical Balances 

Analytical balances are also called laboratory balances. These are balances that are usually designed to measure masses within the sub-milligram range. The modern analytical balance is usually made of a measuring pan that is housed in a transparent enclosure. The enclosure has doors that lock in the mass that that is to be measured so that no dust or air currents get into the measuring balance and affect the operation of the balance.

Over time, there has been the development of a vented safety enclosure that allows for the flow of air without causing fluctuations and brings down the measure of mass up to 1μg without causing the loss of the mass being measured. This technology is usually used in mechanical analytical balances.

The balance with the vented safety enclosure must be housed in at a room temperature to ensure that you get the true weight of the substance being measured. This prevents the natural currents that occur between the inside of the analytical balance and the room. Such currents can cause errors in reading.

Another characteristic of the mechanical analytical balance is that it maintains its useful capacity by maintaining a constant loan in its balance beam. This enables adjustment of the fulcrum against a scale until the weight of the mass equals the weight of the beam on the other side. 

The electronic scales work by estimating the force that is required to bring the balance machine to equilibrium after the mass is put on the measuring pan. The electronic analytical scales do not use an actual mass. Some calibrations adjustments are made to compensate for gravity and avoid getting an erroneous reading due to the gravitational differences, 

The other common interference that the analytical balances engineered to countermeasure include the static electricity and tilting. Tilting causes the gravity to act on one part of the mass being measured thereby causing the measure to be lighter than its actual weight. The analytical scales have a solid base that helps them remain balanced on a surface. Static electricity works similarly to trapped air in the measuring compartment which leads to inaccurate results. Static electricity is dealt with by shielding the inner walls from attracting the sample being measured.

Analytical balances are commonly used in chemical, physics, and health research laboratories. Pharmaceutical companies also use analytical balances to measure ingredients used in the manufacturing of drugs. In all these uses, an error that may be negligible in the common life may cause an undesirable change in characteristics of the product under view.

To learn more about our many analytical balances please call us at 201-475-9184. One of our scales experts at All Scale Shop will be happy to assist you.