2014/03/31 by B P Kibble, I A Robinson · 3 citations
Computer Science · Decision Sciences · Engineering · #Advanced Sensor Technologies Research #Scientific Measurement and Uncertainty Evaluation #Sensor Technology and Measurement Systems
paper · doi:10.1088/0026-1394/51/2/s132
crossref issued 2014/03/31 · crossref published 2014/03/31 · crossref published-online 2014/03/31 · openalex publication_date 2014/03/31 · crossref created 2014/03/31 · crossref published-print 2014/04/01 · crossref deposited 2020/04/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/27 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
It has been known for some time that the watt balance, which is based on the virtual work principle, is insensitive to some misalignments which would, at first sight, be expected to produce significant errors. In this paper we show that, in particular circumstances, this insensitivity applies to a whole range of misalignments. This effect can be exploited to design a watt balance, with a constrained coil motion, which offers advantages over conventional designs. We present three such new designs: one is based on a conventional balance and the other two are based on strip hinges, which are known to have excellent properties when measuring small force differences and with the production of precise linear movements having little motion in the other five degrees of freedom. A constrained design of this kind would have advantages for reproducing the forthcoming SI definition of mass in the range from milligrams to kilograms, whenever and wherever desired, and might well do so with improved accuracy.