Spherometer

A spherometer is an instrument for the precise measurement of the radius of a sphere.

Originally, these instruments were primarily used by opticians to measure the curvature of the
surface of a lens.
The usual form consists of a fine screw moving in a nut carried on the centre of a small threelegged table or frame; the feet forming the vertices of an equilateral triangle. The lower end
of the screw and those of the table legs are finely tapered and terminate in hemispheres, so
that each rests on a point. If the screw has two turns of the thread to the millimetre the head is
usually divided into 50 equal parts, so that differences of 0.01 millimetre may be measured
without using a vernier. A lens, however, may be fitted, in order to magnify the scale
divisions. A vertical scale fastened to the table indicates the number of whole turns of the
screw and serves as an index for reading the divisions on the head.
A contact-lever, delicate level or electric contact arrangement may be attached to the
spherometer in order to indicate the moment of touching more precisely than is possible by
the sense of touch. To measure the radius of a spheree.g. the curvature of a lensthe
spherometer is levelled and read, then placed on the sphere, adjusted until the four points
exert equal pressure, and read again. The difference gives the thickness of that portion of the
sphere cut off by a plane passing through the three feet.

Principles of operation
The spherometer directly measures a sagittal, h. Using the mean length between two outer
legs, a, the spherical radius R is given by the formula:

[rumus]

A spherometer basically is a precision instrument to measure very small lengths. Its name
reflects the way it is used to measure the radii of curvature of spherical surfaces. It is based
on the principle of screw. In general the spherometer consists of:
[rumus]
A base circle of three outer legs, a ring, or the equivalent, having a known radius of the base
circle. (The outer legs of some spherometers can be moved to a set of inner holes in order to
accommodate a smaller surface.)
A central leg, which can be raised or lowered.
A reading device for measuring the distance the central leg is moved. On the new
spherometer, the vertical scale is marked off in units of 0.5 mm. One complete turn of the dial
also corresponds to 0.5 mm and each small graduation on this dial represents 0.005 mm. The
small graduations on the old spherometer are 0.001 mm.

Alternative uses
Since the spherometer is essentially a type of micrometer, it can be employed for purposes
other than measuring the curvature of a spherical surface. For example, it can be used to
measure the thickness of a thin plate.
To do so, the instrument is placed on a perfectly level plane surface and the screw turned until
the point just touches; the exact instant when it does so is defined by a sudden diminution of
resistance succeeded by a considerable increase. The divided head and scale are read; the
screw is raised; the thin plate slipped under it; and the process is repeated. The difference
between the two readings gives the required thickness.
Similarly, the instrument can measure the depression in an otherwise flat plate. The method
would be as for measuring the thickness of a plate, except that the micrometer portion is
placed over the depression and the measurement is taken below the surface instead of above.

This type of instrument is commonly used in inspections of oil field tool pipe for metal
surface pits, fractures, and roundness before being shipped to drilling sites for exploratory
wells. The process of inspections are designed to remove weakened drill pipe, so that pipe
will not fracture during drilling. Tool pipe with thicker than 1" walls for a 4" diameter tube of
hardened steel, fitted with tapered thread collars are re-used after drilling is complete, and
thinner-walled tubular oil-well casing is in place. Electronic instrumentation similar to the
spherometer in design are modified at inspection plants for casing, tubing, and drill pipe. The
equivalent measurements in optics would be for a cylinder, or lens with a cylindrical
component having an optical axis, where a plane through the lens would produce an oval
circumference.
An alternate approach using coordinate geometry was developed recently. This approach
reproduces the well-known result for the spherometer and also leads to a scheme to study
aspherical surfaces.
A related device is the Cylindrometer (also known as Cylindro-Spherometer and SpheroCylindrometer), which can additionally measure the radius of curvature of a right-circular
cylinder