Thursday, July 3, 2014

Different Instruments & Who Uses Them

By Carey Bourdier


There are many interesting instruments used by a variety of professions. Engineers have many tools and instruments that they must learn how to use in order to complete their jobs. Read on and you'll discover a few facts about some pieces of equipment and who uses each instrument.

Theodolites are something you probably have seen before, but you just didn't know it. Many different engineers use this instrument which measures angles in the vertical and the horizontal planes. One type of professional who uses a theodolite is a surveyor or a surveying engineer, and you have probably seen a surveyor on one of your local roads looking through a theodolite and making various calculations.

Another instrument that measures angles is the clinometer but this one would measure the angles of a slope in regards to gravity. Foresters use this to measure the tree height and also for surveying. On ships, these can be used for navigation. They are often called inclinometers that are used to measure the ground movement near volcanoes and they are also used for adjusting the angles of the solar panels.

When you took geometry class in high school, you probably used some type of protractor. One type of protractor used aboard a ship for navigation is the three-arm protractor. The navigator uses the three-arm protractor to plot the position of a ship or even another ship in the distance.

Engineers also use alignment telescopes and this sometimes has a built-in micrometer inside. This is used to measure extreme measurements only. This is an optical ruler that will help in aligning objects along a specific reference line.

There are some different types of levels used by engineers and by construction professionals too. Normal folk would use these to hand up framed pictures, shelves and any other odd jobs at home but for the engineer it is used at construction sites so that they can ensure the foundations of the construction is secure or for putting large machinery in one spot. One tiny problem and everything could fall apart and that would be a very big problem for you.




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