Measurement: Meters and Scales

Q: What in measured by a(n) … ?		A:
Ammeter		Electric current
Anemometer		Wind speed
Atmometer		Rate of evaporation
Bolometer		Electromagnetic radiation (energy of)
Brannock device		Shoe size
Campbell–Stokes Recorder		Hours of sunshine
Ceilometer		Height of the cloud ceiling
Clinometer		Angles of elevation
Dines tilting syphon		Rainfall
Drosometer		Dew
Fathometer		Depth of water
Galvanometer		Electric current
Geiger counter		Nuclear radiation (radioactivity)
Goniometer		Angles
Hydrometer		Density or specific gravity of a liquid
Hygrometer		Humidity
Wet and dry bulb hygrometer		Relative humidity
Hypsometer		Altitude
Lactometer		Density (creaminess) of milk
Manometer		Gas (or vapour) pressure
Odometer		Distance (travelled by a vehicle)
Photometer		Intensity of light
Pitot tube		Velocity of flow in a fluid (especially the air speed of an aircraft)
Pluviometer		Rainfall
Pycnometer		Specific gravity (density) of a liquid
Sclerometer		Hardness of a mineral or metal
Sphygmomanometer		Blood pressure
Spirometer		Lung capacity
Stalagmometer		Surface tension
Stevenson Screen		Temperature
Tachometer		Revolutions per minute (of an engine)
Wheatstone Bridge		Electrical resistance

Q: What is used by … ?		A:
Navigators to measure the time exactly		Chronometer
Engineers for manual measurement of small distances		Micrometer
Navigators to measure the angle between heavenly bodies and the horizon – especially that of the sun at noon, to determine latitude		Sextant
Surveyors for measuring angles		Theodolite

Q: What is measured on (the) … ?		A:
Beaufort scale		Wind speed
Bristol scale (devised in 1997)		Human stools (faeces)
Clark's scale		Hardness of water
Douglas sea scale		Sea swells and wave heights
Fujita Scale (a.k.a. F–Scale or Fujita–Pearson Scale)		Tornados (intensity of)
Gay–Lussac scale		Strength of alcohol
Mercalli scale (and recorded on a seismograph)		Intensity of earthquakes
The Mohs scale (named after the German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs; for details, see Minerals)		Hardness of minerals
pH scale		Acidity or alkalinity
Richter scale		Magnitude of earthquakes
Saffir–Simpson scale: severity of		Hurricanes (cyclones)
Scoville scale		Piquancy (hotness) of chili peppers

Devised in 1909 by the Danish chemist S. P. L. (Søren) Sørensen, to specify the acidity or alkalinity of an aqueous solution		pH scale sorensen
Neutral on the pH scale – the pH of pure water (a lower pH value indicates an acidic solution; a higher value indicates an alkali or base)		7.0
Measures the impact hazard associated with near–Earth objects (created by Prof. Richard P. Binzel of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and presented at a conference in Turin 1999		Torino Scale
Absolute measure of an earthquake's strength, measured by the Richter scale		Magnitude
Subjective measure, based on the effect at any one place, measured by the Mercalli scale		Intensity
Levels of hardness in the Mohs scale		10
Levels of intensity in the Mercalli scale (Instrumental to Catastrophic)		12 (I – XII)

Absolute zero (Celsius)		–273.15^oC
Absolute zero (Kelvin)		0K
Freezing point of water (0°C) on the Kelvin scale		273.15K
Boiling point of water (100°C) on the Kelvin scale		373.15K
Temperature that's the same in Fahrenheit and Celsius (Centigrade)		–40°
Freezing point of water on the Fahrenheit scale		32°
Boiling point of water on the Fahrenheit scale		212°

Liquids in a max–min thermometer: mercury and		Alcohol
A spectrograph is used to		Draw a spectrum
An aneroid barometer is so called because it has		No liquid
A heliograph is used for		Signalling by the sun