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

It is known that Cavendish was the first who succeeded by means of the torsion balance in effecting fairly precise measurements.

From The New Physics and Its Evolution by Poincaré, Lucien

The amount of charge in each jar was determined by bringing a proof-plane into contact with its knob and measuring by a torsion balance the charge taken away.

From Faraday as a Discoverer by Tyndall, John

Electrometer.—The measuring instrument I have employed has been the torsion balance electrometer of Coulomb, constructed, generally, according to his directions235, but with certain variations and additions, which I will briefly describe.

From Experimental Researches in Electricity, Volume 1 by Faraday, Michael