OT THE SPECIFIC GRAVITIES OF BODIES. 183 



bucket iii the water, which will cause it to preponderate ; LECT. 

 and put as much weight into the opposite scale as will v ' 

 restore the balance to an equipoise ; and this weight 

 will be the weight of a quantity of water equal in bulk 

 to the quicksilver. Lastly, divide the weight of the 

 quicksilver in air by the weight of its bulk of water, 

 and the quotient will shew how much the quicksilver is 

 heavier than its bulk of water. 



If a piece of brass, glass, lead, or silver, be immersed 

 and suspended in different sorts of fluids, the different 

 losses of weight therein will shew how much it is hea- 

 vier than its bulk of the fluid ; the fluid being lightest 

 in which the immersed body loses least of its aerial 

 weight. A solid bubble of glass is generally used for 

 finding the specific gravities of fluids. 



Hence we have an easy method of finding the specific 

 gravities both of solids and fluids, with regard to their 

 respective bulks of common pump water, which is ge- 

 nerally made a standard for comparing all the others 

 by. 



In constructing tables of specific gravities with ac- 

 curacy, the gravity of water must be represented by 

 unity or 1.000, where three cyphers are added, to giva 

 room for expressing the ratios of other gravities in 

 decimal parts, as in the following table. 



