Mechanics

Measurement
Measurement of any physical quantity involves a unit.
A Unit is an internationally accepted reference used to define fundamental basic
quantities.
In mechanics the three fundamental basic quantities are:
Length Time
Mass
[L] [T]
[M]
Meters seconds
kilograms

In 1960 an international committee established rules to decide on a set of standards for
all the fundamental quantities. At this time 3 major systems of units for measurement
were used in various countries:
CGS system (centimeter gram second)
FPS system (foot pound second)
MKS system (meter kilogram second)

The current internationally accepted system for measurement is SI (Systeme
Internationale d Unites) system of units. Also known as International system of units. It
was developed and recommended by general conference on weights and measures in 1971.
In SI system there are 7 basic units:
1: Length (meters, m): A meter is the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum
during a time interval of

of a second. 1983
2: Mass (kilograms, kg): The kilogram is equal to the mass of the international prototype
of the kilogram (a platinum-irridium alloy cylinder) kept at International Bureau of
Weights and Measures, at Sevres, France. 1889
3: Time (second, s): The second is the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation
corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of
the cesium-133 atom. 1967
4: Electric Current (amperes, A): The ampere is that constant current which, if
maintained in two straight parallel conductors of infinite length, of negligible circular
cross-section, and placed 1 m apart in vacuum, would produce between these conductors
a force of

Newton per meter of length. 1948

5: Thermodynamic Temperature (Kelvin, K): The Kelvin, is the fraction

of the
thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water. 1967
6: Amount of substance (mole, mol): The mole is the amount of substance of a system,
which contains as many as elementary entities as there are atoms in 0.012 kg of Carbon-
12. 1971
7: Luminous Intensity ( Candela, cd): The candela is the luminous intensity in a given
direction, of a source that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency

hertz and that has a radiant intensity in that direction of

watt per steradian. 1979

In physics we explore the very small to the very large.
Very small: fraction of a proton
Very large: Universe itself
This exploration requires measurement at all times. When we measure something, it has
a magnitude. There are about 45 orders of magnitude.
The range of the magnitude of the size can be appreciated from the video demonstrated
in the class The powers of 10. Powers of 10 are:
Yotta Y

Zetta Z

Exa E

peta P

tera T

giga G

mega M

kilo k

hecto h

deca da

deci d

centi c

milli m

micro

nano n

pico p

femto f

atto a

zepto z

yocto y

Measurement of Length:
Length measuring devices:
1: meter scale/meter tape:

m to

m
2: Vernier Callipers: for small lengths upto a minimum of

m
3: Screw gauge: for small lengths upto a minimum of

m
4: Spherometer: for small lengths upto a minimum of

m
5: Electron Microscope: for the smallest distances.


The meter scale enables us to measure the length to the nearest millimeter only. Engineers and
scientists need to measure much smaller distances accurately. For this a special type of scale called
Vernier scale is used.
Vernier Calliper
The Vernier scale consists of a main scale graduated in centimeters and millimeters. On the Vernier
scale 0.9 cm is divided into ten equal parts. The least count or the smallest reading which you can get
with the instrument can be calculated as under:
Least count = one main scale (MS) division - one vernier scale (VS) division.
= 1 mm - 0.09 mm
= 0.1 mm
= 0.01 cm
The least count of the vernier


= 0.01 cm
The Vernier calliper consists of a main scale fitted with a jaw at one end. Another jaw, containing the
vernier scale, moves over the main scale. When the two jaws are in contact, the zero of the main scale
and the zero of the vernier scale should coincide. If both the zeros do not coincide, there will be a
positive or negative zero error.
After calculating the least count place the object between the two jaws.
Record the position of zero of the vernier scale on the main scale (3.2 cm in figure below).

Principle of Vernier
You will notice that one of the vernier scale divisions coincides with one of the main scale divisions. (In
the illustration, 3
rd
division on the vernier coincides with a MS division).
Reading of the instrument = MS div + (coinciding VS div x L.C.)
= 3.2 + (3 x 0.01)
= 3.2 + 0.03
= 3.23 cm
To measure the inner and outer diameter of a hollow cylinder or ring, inner and outer callipers are
used. Take measurements by the two methods as shown in figure below.

Screw Gauge:

Screw-gauge is another instrument used for measuring accurately the diameter of a thin wire or the
thickness of a sheet of metal.
It consists of a U-shaped frame fitted with a screwed spindle which is attached to a thimble.
The screw has a known pitch such as 0.5 mm. Pitch of the screw is the distance moved by the spindle
per revolution. Hence in this case, for one revolution of the screw the spindle moves forward or
backward 0.5 mm. This movement of the spindle is shown on an engraved linear millimeter scale on the
sleeve. On the thimble there is a circular scale which is divided into 50 or 100 equal parts.
When the anvil and spindle end are brought in contact, the edge of the circular scale should be at the
zero of the sleeve (linear scale) and the zero of the circular scale should be opposite to the datum line
of the sleeve. If the zero is not coinciding with the datum line, there will be a positive or negative zero
error as shown in figure below.

Zero error in case of screw gauge
While taking a reading, the thimble is turned until the wire is held firmly between the anvil and the
spindle.
The least count of the micrometer screw can be calculated using the formula given below:
Least count

= 0.01 mm
Determination of Diameter of a Wire

The wire whose thickness is to be determined is placed between the anvil and spindle end, the thimble
is rotated till the wire is firmly held between the anvil and the spindle. The rachet is provided to avoid
excessive pressure on the wire. It prevents the spindle from further movement. The thickness of the wire
could be determined from the reading as shown in figure below.

Reading = Linear scale reading + (Coinciding circular scale x Least count)
= 2.5 mm + (46 x 0.01)
= (2.5 + 0.46) mm
= 2.96 mm

Spherometer:
****Kindly refer to the video demonstration in class.

Measurement of large distances:
Distance of a planet or a far off star cannot be measured directly, hence we use indirect
methods. Parallax method is one of them:
What is parallax? Hold a pen in front of you against the background of a wall. Now look
at the pen first through your left eye only (i.e. right eye closed) and then look at the pen
through the right eye only (left eye closed). You would notice the shift in the position of
the pen with respect to the wall, this is called Parallax.
The distance between the two points of observation is called the basis. In the above
example:
Basis = distance between the eyes
Case study: Distance of a far off star:




S1
S2
D D





The two observatory stations S1 and S2 observe the star simultaneously from the surface
of the earth.
As the star is very far away from our planet hence:

Hence is very small. Therefore it is safe to assume that S1S2 is an arc of a very large
circle. Hence:

Where is in radians.

**The distance of the stars and other planetary bodies is usually given in another unit of
length known as Light Years.

Case Study: Diameter of a far off planet:





A
B
S




AB = D = Diameter of planet
Observatory S focuses on the extreme ends of the planet and takes note of the angle
made by them. The distance of the planet can be measured as shown in the above case
study.
Let the distance of the planet = D (AS = BS = D)
Hence diameter of the planet =

Other Units of Length:
1 Angstorm = 1 A =

1 Astronomical Unit = 1 AU = Average distance of the Sun from the earth
=

1 Light Year = 1 ly = Distance that light travels in 1 year
=

1 Parsec = distance at which average radius of earths orbit subtends an angle
of 1 arc second
=

***Speed of light =

Measurement of Mass:
In India the prototype of the international standard kilogram is available at the National
Physical Laboratory (NPL) at New Delhi.
In general we use kilograms (kg) as the unit of measurement, however in case of very
small masses like atoms and molecules we use another unit:
Unified atomic mass unit = 1 u
=

of the mass of Carbon-12 isotope (

Mass Measuring Devices:

Very large masses like planets etc.: Newtons Law of Gravitation
Very small masses like atomic, sub-atomic particles etc.: Mass Spectrograph



Measurement of time:
A Standard clock is used to define the units of time. It is an atomic clock based on the
periodic vibrations produced in a cesium atom. We have one at NPL (New Delhi).
Uncertainty of the clock =

Hence we do not loose or gain any more than 3 s in one year.
Other units of time: minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries,
millenniums etc.

Uncertainty in measurement:
Any measurement you make without any knowledge of its uncertainty is meaningless.
The reading (measurement) of every instrument contains some uncertainty, sometimes
known as error.
Any measurement has two components:
1: Accuracy
2: Precision
Accuracy is the measure of how close the measured value is to the true value of the
quantity.
Precision defines the level of the resolution up to which the quantity is measured.



Example: Actual length of an object = 3.678 cm
Equipment 1 Equipment 2
3.5 0.1 cm 3.38 0.01 cm
(Higher accuracy) (Lower Accuracy)
(Lower Precision) (Higher Precision)
Reason for the lower accuracy inspite of higher precision in case of Equipment 2 is error.
Therefore every measurement is approximate due to errors in measurement.

Errors
Systematic Errors Random Errors
Instrumental error -- Random unpredictable
Imperfection in experimental technique fluctuations in experimental
Personal errors (carelessness) conditions
Personal unbiased
errors

Least Count: is the smallest value that can be measured by an instrument.
Least count error: Error associated with the resolution (or precision of resolution) of the
instrument.

Process of identifying the uncertainty:
Make several measurements of the same object using the same instrument or setup.
Let the measurements be a
1
, a
2
, a
3
, a
4
a
n
.
Hence the mean of the values will be as follows:

This will give a value that maybe closest to the actual value.
Absolute error of a measurement:
For a1 =

For a2 =

.
.
.
For an =

Final or mean absolute error:

Hence the measurement can be written as:

This implies that any measurement taken will lie between:
(

Relative error:

Percentage error:

Example: Readings for the length measured of an arc are as follows:
a
1
= 2.67 cm, a
2
= 2.59 cm, a
3
= 2.65 cm, a
4
= 2.61 cm, a
5
= 2.62 cm

= 0.0256
Hence

Combination of errors:
If an experiment involves several measurements and some value is calculated using an
equation, than the errors in all the measurements combine. The combinations are as
follows:
1: Addition:

( (

2: Subtraction:

( (

3: Multiplication:

( (

AB can be ignored A and B are very small, hence there product will be negligible.

4: Division:





Dividing LHS by Z and RHS by A/B

Again ignoring ZB, we get

5: Power:

Differentiating both sides

Hence the relative error becomes n times

6: Complex:

Example: If

and the percentage errors A(=36.24),

B(=23.12), C(=11.6), D(=1.68), E(=26.48), F(=64.24) and G(=0.68) are 1.2, 2.1, 1.05, 0.5, 2.12,
3.01 and 1.65 respectively, find the percentage error in f.
Percentage error in the first component =
{( (

) (

)}
Percentage error in second component = 0.5 X 2.12 = 0.106 %
Percentage error in the third component = 3.01 X 1.65 = 4.967 %
Absolute error in the first component = 22914204.65 X (6.075/100)
= 1392037.932
Absolute error in the second component = 44.487 X (0.106/100) = 0.047
Absolute error in the third component = 94.47 X (4.967/100) = 4.692
Therefore absolute error of f = 1392037.932 + 0.047 + 4.692 =1392042.671
Percentage error of f = (1392042.671/22914154.67) X 100 = 6.07 %

Dimensional Analysis:
The word dimension denotes the physical nature of a quantity. In mechanics we use three
basic dimensions:
Length [L]
Mass [M]
Time [T]
All physical quantities represented by derived units can be expressed in terms of some
combination of the seven fundamental quantities.
Derived Units:
Area = [][] [

] [

]
Volume = [][

] [

] [

]
Density =

[]
[

]
[

] [

]
Speed/Velocity =

[]
[]
[][

] [

]
Acceleration =

]
[]
[][

] [

]
Momentum = [] [

] [

]
Force = [] [

] [

]
Pressure =

]
[

]
[

]
Work/Energy = [

][] [

]
Power =

]
[]
[

]
Moment of force = [

][] [

]
Gravitational Constant =
(

][

]
[][]
[