I've found hydrostatic balance can mean hydrostatic equilibrium (the result of outward pressure being balanced by inward forces of gravity, used in analyzing stars' structures) or the physical hydrostatic balance ( as in a balance that resembles a scale).
Are they related? And which is Galileo credited for?
Are they related? And which is Galileo credited for?
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Galileo knew nothing about the internal structure of stars. He did work on (or most likely invented) the hydrostatic balance device.
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Galileo had some ideas for refining the practice and, at the age of 22, he wrote a little tract about it, which he entitled La Bilancetta, or "The Little Balance..."
What Galileo described was an accurate balance for weighing things in air and water, in which the part of the arm on which the counter weight was hung was wrapped with metal wire...
The amount by which the counterweight had to be moved when weighing in water could then be determined very accurately by counting the number of turns of the wire, and the proportion of, say, gold to silver in the object could be read off directly...
What Galileo described was an accurate balance for weighing things in air and water, in which the part of the arm on which the counter weight was hung was wrapped with metal wire...
The amount by which the counterweight had to be moved when weighing in water could then be determined very accurately by counting the number of turns of the wire, and the proportion of, say, gold to silver in the object could be read off directly...