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MEASUREMENTS OF LENGTH; VERNIER SCALES

AND
MICROMETER SCREWS
Reprinted from Experimental College Physics, by Marsh W. White and Kenneth V.
Manning, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1954.

For most measurements with a rules scale, it is desirable to estimate
fractions of the smallest division on the scale. Two common scale attachments
that increase the accuracy of these estimates are the vernier scale and the
micrometer screw. Because of the difficulty of holding a linear scale against a
curved surface or against a narrow width, calipers are used. A caliper is an
instrument with two jaws, straight or curved, used to determine the diameters
of objects or the distances between two surfaces. A caliper with a vernier scale
is called a vernier caliper; a caliper with a micrometer screw is called a
micrometer caliper.
The Vernier Principle. The vernier is an auxiliary scale, invented by
Pierre Vernier in 1631, which has graduations that are of different length from
those on the main scale but that bear a simple relation to them. The vernier
scale of Fig. 3.1 has 10 divisions
that correspond in length to
9 divisions on the main scale. Each
vernier division is therefore shorter
than a main-scale division by
1/10 of a main-scale division. In fig.3.1 the zero mark of the vernier scale
coincides with the zero mark of the main scale. The first vernier division is
1/10 main-scale division short of a mark on the main scale, the second division
in 2/10 short of the next mark on the main scale, and so on until the tenth
vernier division is 10/10, or a whole division, short of a mark on the main
scale. It therefore coincides with a mark on the main scale.
If the vernier scale is moved to the right until one mark, say the sixth as
in Fig. 3.2, coincides with some mark of the main scale the number of tenths of
a main-scale division that the
vernier scale is moved is the
number of the vernier division
that coincides with any main
scale division. (It does not matter
with which main-scale mark it coincides.) The sixth vernier division coincides
with a main-scale mark in Fig 3.2 therefore the vernier scale has moved 6/10 of
a main-scale division to the right of its zero position. The vernier scale thus
tells the fraction of a main-scale division that the zero of the vernier scale has
moved beyond any main-scale mark. In Fig. 3.3 the zero is to the right of the
second mark on the main scale
and the fourth mark of the
vernier scale coincides with a
main-scale mark. The reading
is 2.0 divisions (obtained from
the main scale up to the
vernier zero) and 0.4 division (obtained from the vernier coincidence), or
2.4 divisions.
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The foregoing example illustrates the simplest and commonest type of
vernier scale. Instruments are manufactured with many different vernier-scale
to main scale ratios. The essential principle of all vernier scales is, however, the
same, and the student who masters the fundamental idea can easily learn by
himself to read any special type.
In brief, the general principle of the vernier scale is that a certain
number n of divisions on the vernier scale is equal in length to a different
number (usually one less) of main scale divisions. In symbols
( ) 1 nV n S = (1)
where n is the number of divisions on the vernier scale, V is the length of one
division on the vernier scale, and S is the length of the smallest main-scale
division.
The term least count is applied to the smallest value that can be read
directly from a vernier scale. It is equal to the difference between a main-scale
and a vernier division. It can be expressed by rearranging Eq. (1), thus

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Least count S V S
n
= = (2)
When you have occasion to used a new type of vernier scale, first
determine the least count of the instrument. In order to make a measurement
with the instrument, read the number of divisions on the main scale before the
zero of the vernier scale and note which vernier division coincides with a mark
of the main scale. Multiply the number of the coinciding vernier mark by the
least count to obtain the fractional part of a main-scale division to be added to
the main-scale reading.
The Vernier Caliper. A widely used type of vernier caliper is shown
schematically in Fig. 3.4 The
instrument has both British and metric
scales and is provided with devices to
measure internal depths and both
inside and outside diameters. The jaws
c and d are arranged to measure an
outside diameter, jaws e and f to
measure an inside diameter, and the
blade g to measure an internal depth.
The knurled wheel W is used for convenient adjustment of the movable jaw and
the latch L to lock the jaw in position.
The Micrometer Screw. A micrometer screw is another device for
measuring very small distances. It consists essentially of a carefully machined
screw R, Fig.
3.5, to which is
attached a
circular scale C.
A linear scale S
provides for
observation of
the forward
motion of the
screw. The
distance the
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screw moves forward for one turn, the pitch of the screw, is known. The
circular scale enables one to read the fractions of turns, and the linear scale
enables one to record the whole number of turns. The least count of a
micrometer screw is the pitch of the screw divided by the number of divisions
on the circular scale.
The Micrometer Caliper. The micrometer caliper, Fig. 3.6 is used for
the precise measurement of small lengths. It consists of a micrometer screw
mounted in a strong frame F. The object to be measured is
placed between the end of the screw and the projecting end
A of the frame, called the anvil. The linear scale S is
marked on the arm upon which the screw turns and the
circular scale is engraved on the movable sleeve or thimble
T. One type of metric micrometer caliper has the linear
scale graduated in millimeters, a screw having a pitch of
0.50 mm, and 50 divisions on the circular scale. The least
count of this instrument is 0.50mm/50 = 0.010mm.
Inasmuch as it requires two revolutions of the screw to
make it advance a distance of 1 mm, it is necessary to note
whether the screw has advanced more or less than one-half
of a main-scale division. Various methods are used for
marking the half-millimeter distances as illustrated in Fig.
3.7a-d. In these diagrams the S reading is 6.5 mm and the
T reading is 48.4 hundredths of a millimeter. The complete
reading is, therefore, 6.5 + 0.484 or 6.981 mm.
Many micrometer calipers are provided with an
auxiliary milled head, H in Fig. 3.6 which is arranged to
slip on the screw as soon as a certain force is exerted on
the object to be measured. This arrangement is intended to ensure that the
screw is always tightened on the measured object by the same amount. When
no such head is provided, great care must be taken not to force the screw.