jeudi 13 février 2014

Different Levels & Their Uses

By Carey Bourdier


In general, a level is a device that is used to establish a horizontal plane. This can be useful in many different endeavors from simple household tasks to building skyscrapers to surveying. There are several different kinds of levels, and each one has been designed for a specific purpose.

A spirit level is one category of level, but there are many different kinds of spirit levels, and each one was created for specific uses. For example, there is a mason's level which is used by stonemasons. The torpedo level is the one used by carpenters that we typically have in our own homes. There are post levels that ensure that rails and posts for fencing are aligned properly.

A precision frame spirit level can be useful in any type of construction, and these differ from those long torpedo levels and resemble a square with prismatic sides. They are used for the highly accurate determination of vertical and horizontal shapes and surfaces, which is essential when you are building everything from a backyard shed to a home or a large commercial building.

While all spirit levels are so named because the liquid in the level vial contains spirits or rather ethanol, not all levels are cylindrical. The bull's eye spirit level is circular and resembles its namesake, a bull's eye. These are used in surveying equipment, such as a theodolite, as well as in compasses and sometimes on tripods. Carpenters also use bull's eye levels, as well. The advantage of this type of spirit level is that works in two dimensions unlike most spirit levels which work in one only.

Surveyors for hundreds of years have needed to use levels to gather information about topography. In the 1870s, astronomer and inventor William Abney created the Abney level to aid in the measurement of elevation and landform grade. This topographic level includes a protractor and sighting tube, as well as a precise spirit level that is movable.

The laser level is used by engineers to ensure that machine parts are completely level. Even the tiniest inaccuracy in leveling can cause huge problems in large-scale equipment. Laser levels also are used in construction and even survey work. While they can be used to set up complex machinery properly, simple laser levels are helpful tools in the home, as well.




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