How to Measure Curves
The Curvimeter – or opisometer – is a device that measures the length of curved lines and helps to calculate the distance between the points on a map more precisely than a ruler or a compass.
The mechanism has a measuring wheel, a clock face and a hand. When the wheel moves along the line on a map that you need to measure, the hand moves around the clock face marked with measuring units – centimeters, inches, etc. All you need to do in the end is to check the map scale and to multiply your data by the denominator in the scale.
You can rely on the curvimeter when planning a hike with your friends or a family trip – it will help you to determine the distance you’d cover to get to your destination. The device is especially useful when you have no access to any electronic gadgets or the internet.
There is no verified information about the actual inventor of the curvimeter. Some sources say the credit of its invention belongs to the Roman engineer Virtuvius, who describes a very similar device around 23 BC. Others refer to a Chinese scholar, Zhāng Héng. Russian sources suggest that the curvimeter might have been invented by the polymath Mikhail Lomonosov who presumably initially called it “krivimetr”. All in all, the official first curvimeter patent belongs to the English engineer Edward Russell Morris who in 1873 registered “a novel device for measuring distances”.
Model Size: 11x11x6 cm approx
Number of components: 109
Estimated time of assembly: 2 hours
Ages: 8+
Assembling and discovering Ugears models is a smart and engaging hobby for grown-ups and kids of all ages. All Ugears models are made of sustainably sourced wood and require neither glue nor special tools to be fully assembled into functional working models. Also, there is no need for batteries or any external power source as they are powered by rubber bands, gears, cranks and gravity.
Each Ugears model is not just a construction kit but an incarnate IDEA of a PERFECT mechanism. Putting them together, you bring the idea to life.
This model is only one of many that we stock in our Ugears Model Kits range from Ugears Australia. This range is also part of our STEM Engineering & Construction collection, which has even more building kits for you to choose from.
