1851 Great Exhibition: Official Catalogue: Class X.: Ludwig Obertling
334. OERTLING, LUDWIG, 13 Store Street, Bedford Square — Manufacturer.
Balance, to carry 1/2 cwt. in each pan, and turn when loaded with 3/10 of a grain.
Chemical balance, to carry 1 lb. in each pan, and turn when loaded with 1/200 of a grain.
Balance to carry 1,000 grains in each pan, and turn when loaded with 1/1000th of a grain.
In the two latter, the knife-edges are made of agate, and the suspending pieces for the pans are provided with agate planes.
[The sensibility of these balances may be expressed by saying, that the first turns with about the 1,300,000th part of the weight which it can weigh; the second with the 1,400,000th part; and the third with the 1,000,000th part. The value of such balances is perceived in delicate chemical analyses, in which a fractional error has often led to important mistakes.—R. E.]