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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

torsion balance

Their experiments relied on a torsion balance, an instrument capable of detecting extremely small forces by measuring how much a thin suspended fiber twists.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Gravity between the outer and inner masses caused the suspended torsion balance to rotate, twisting the thin metal ribbon.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

As the outer masses attracted the inner ones, the torsion balance rotated and twisted the ribbon.

From Science Daily ● May 18, 2026

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

From Economist ● Jan. 26, 2017

It is mainly a torsion balance combined with a Leyden-jar.

From A Treatise on Meteorological Instruments Explanatory of Their Scientific Principles, Method of Construction, and Practical Utility by Henry Negretti

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