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We have designed and built a prototype electrostatic force balance for realizing forces in the micronewton range. The active electrodes are concentric cylinders, the outer serving as the reference and the inner suspended and guided by a rectilinear flexure mechanism. The geometry has been designed such that a near-linear capacitance gradient of 1 pF/mm is achieved at a working overlap of 5 mm. We have used this balance in a null displacement mode to compare an electric realization of force with the force generated by calibrated deadweights of nominal mass 1 mg, 10 mg, and 20 mg. The preliminary measurements reported here agree to within a few parts in 104 after including all known correction factors.
Proceedings Title
Proceedings of IMEKO TC3/TC5/TC20 Joint International Conference
Volume
1685
Conference Dates
September 1, 2002
Conference Location
Celle, GE
Conference Title
IMEKO TC3/TC5/TC20 Joint International Conference
Pub Type
Conferences
Keywords
electrostatic force balance, microforce realization
Kramar, J.
, Newell, D.
and Pratt, J.
(2002),
NIST Electrostatic Force Balance Experiment, Proceedings of IMEKO TC3/TC5/TC20 Joint International Conference, Celle, GE
(Accessed October 14, 2025)