A scale or balance is a device used to measure weight or mass and judging by our collection it seems that plenty of these were used in the Busselton area!
A balance scale consists of two plates or bowls suspended at equal distances from a fulcrum. One plate holds an object of unknown weight, while objects of known weight, called weights, are added to the other plate until equilibrium is achieved and the plates level off, which happens when the masses on the two plates are equal. A spring scale will make use of a spring of known stiffness to determine weight. Suspending a certain weight will extend the spring by a certain amount depending on the spring's stiffness. The heavier the object, the more the spring stretches. Other types of scales making use of different physical principles also exist.
