torsion balance

American  

noun

1. an instrument for measuring small forces, as electric attraction or repulsion, by determining the amount of torsion or twisting they cause in a slender wire or filament.

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torsion balance British  

noun

1. an instrument used to measure small forces, esp electric or magnetic forces, by the torsion they produce in a thin wire, thread, or rod

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Etymology

Origin of torsion balance

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

To do so, he used a piece of apparatus called a torsion balance.

From Economist • Jan. 26, 2017

But the torsion balance did not work well in hilly land.

From Time Magazine Archive

Reich, mean density of the earth, as ascertained by the torsion balance, 170; temperature of the mines in Saxony, 174.

From COSMOS: A Sketch of the Physical Description of the Universe, Vol. 1 by Humboldt, Alexander von

On the contrary, the torsion balance seems very much alive.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 601, July 9, 1887 by Various

In 1785 Coulomb constructed his torsion balance, by which he was enabled to measure the repulsion of electrified bodies.

From Popular scientific lectures by Mach, Ernst