An Improvised Method For The Determination Of Density Of Solids

Experimental procedure Density of a substance is a physical quantity which is defined as mass of unit volume of the substance. There are many methods for the determination of density of substances. To find out the density we need a physical balance for the measurement of mass and a measuring cylinder for volume. But there are other many methods where the density of substances is determined without measuring the mass and volume directly. For example, Mumba and Tsige [1] have described a method where the density of a solid can be measured with the help of a meter scale only. In this method, they have used two principles: Archimedes principle and the principle of moment of force. Chattopadhyay has also developed the alternative methods [2,3] for the determination of density of liquid without measuring its mass and volume. The method developed by Mumba and Tsige [1] is based on Archimedes principle and is thus not suitable for the determination of density of solids which are of very small sizes (e.g., sand) and which are in the form of powder, because the volume of solid of small size is very less and so when it is immersed completely in water, the up thrust acting on it is so small that it can not bring an appreciable change in the meter scale reading. In this paper another method for the determination of density of any type of solids, without measuring the mass and volume directly, is described where only the principle of moment of force is used and Archimedes principle is not needed and thus suitable for the solids of small sizes or in powder form.