Do You Really Know the History of Weighing Scale?

A weighing scale (or weighing balance) is a device to measure weight or mass. These are also known as mass scales, weight scales, mass balance, weight balance, or simply scale, balance, or balance scale. 

The balance scale is such a simple device that its usage likely far predates the evidence. What has allowed archaeologists to link artifacts to weighing scales are the stones for determining absolute mass. The balance scale itself was probably used to determine relative mass long before absolute mass. It was born of necessity. As trading developed during the Antiquity, merchants needed a way to assess the value of goods that could not simply be counted by the pieces, like irregular-shaped gold nuggets for instance. The most ancient relics of a weighing scale have been discovered in the Indus River valley, near present day’s Pakistan, and date back to around 2,000 B.C. Those first weighing scales were actually balances, using two plates attached to an overhead beam, itself fixed on a central pole. The measurement was taken by putting the object measured on one plate and weight-setting stones on the other, until equilibrium was reached. 

LP7610 High Resolution Platform Scales

The weighing scale didn’t know any major technological improvements until the industrial era. It is only starting in the late 18th century that new ways to measure mass appeared that didn’t rely on counter-weights. The most modern body scales rely on electronics to measure the weight of their users. By sticking electrical resistances on deformable materials and running a current through them, it is possible to detect variations in the conductivity of the resistances that are correlated to the amount of pressure exerted on the material, and thus to deduce the weight of the person (or the object) standing on the scale. 

In fact, the development of weighing scale is very fast. Meanwhile, the appearance of it has provided the more convenience to people in their work.