Measure the mass of an eyelash with a DIY microbalance

Applied Science · 141.2K views · 2014-06-08 · 7:45

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Overview

Ben Krasnow of Applied Science builds a DIY microbalance from an analog panel meter with an optical servo loop. It reaches about 5 micrograms of precision and is used to weigh a single eyelash at around 35 micrograms.

On Hacker News

Pointed to as proof that you can weigh micrograms cheaply at home, and as a clear breakdown of how such a scale works.

Recommended by 1 HN people across 1 months · HN mentions 2018–2026

Topics

Embedded systems & DIY electronics Electronics & circuit design 3D printing, CNC & maker projects

What people said

jcims · 2018-12 · Recommendation
Saw this DIY one a few years back on youtube, looks like the Erowid one, thought it was a neat build - [LINK] YouTube just dug up a a real nice breakdown that Ben Krasnow did - [VIDEO]
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pvillano · 2026-01 · Reference
Paper's uniform mass per area makes it useful calibrating very tiny scales. 1mm² of 80 gsm paper will weigh about 80 micrograms. "Measure the mass of an eyelash with a DIY microbalance" by Applied Science [VIDEO]
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s0rce · 2025-05 · Reference
My dad built one with an electromagnetic coil many years ago, can't find the design, capacity was limited but had 100? microgram resolution, maybe similar to this applied science video [VIDEO] but I think simpler. maybe something like this: [LINK] [LINK] I found some old emails about the scale from 2005/6 but can't find the link and it would probably be gone anyways.
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Sources

Video by Applied Science, played through YouTube.

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