Calibrating your grams scale.... Coins as Calibration Weights

[daveomak]

I found this...   Could be useful....

Coins as Calibration Weights

Coins are minted to precise specifications, including weight, so they can serve as calibration weights. For example, a U.S. nickel weighs 5 grams. A penny weighs 2.5 grams. These numbers easily multiply, so 10 nickles can serve as a 50-gram calibration weight. Other U.S. coins are less useful because their weights don't fall at such even numbers; for example, a dime weighs 2.268 grams. A 1-euro coin weighs 7.5 grams, and a 0.02-euro coin weighs 3 grams.

 

[bluewhisper]

I wrote that paragraph. The whole article is here:

http://sciencing.com/calibrate-scale-weights-4740563.html

 

[daveomak]

ALEX ....  My apologies....   I had your real name but not your SMF name...   I know I was enlightened by the technical articles you had written... 

Now proper credit is given....    Thanks much for all your articles.....    Simply, a great help to all of us....

 

[bluewhisper]

No problem! I just thought it was funny that something I wrote is floating around out there on its own.

 

[marctrees]

Very good thinking, to use common item for calibration/ confirmation.

Great , simple,  idea.           Marc

 

[dward51]

Also test/verify your scale calibration both before measuring and after done (before combining the spices).  I have one scale that has 1/100th of a gram resolution, but I figured out when the batteries got low, it had some wild readings.  Not off enough to be super obvious just looking at the pile of spice, but enough to screw up a recipe.    I already had the certified 100 gram calibration weight, but started checking the accuracy before weighing, and then after all the spices were weighed at the end to make sure it had not drifted.